KCU/04/Chupicabra

Topic 9: God is not enough, need people too?

Question: In popular belief & worship songs, it is not uncommon to find the idea that all we need is God. Cloud & Townsend, however, basically argue that God is not enough, we need people too. Do you agree with their view? Why or why not? (Be sure to do more research into the issue. If the group cannot come to a consensus, feel free to have different group members each express their own opinions.)

Ben Williams, Arthur Ridder, Chris-Robert Niese

Dr. Tan

Christian Heritage

[rough draft the first]

Balancing Relationships

Introduction

This world is filled with many characteristics and elements. It is filled with love, joy and happiness; with decisions, trials and tribulations; with wars, hate and sadness. The question then arises of how we may face the characteristics and elements of this world. The options of how to face the world include facing life in this world alone in total independence, facing it with relationships with other people, facing it with a relationship with God, or finding some balance between the relationships of God and people. The relationships on which we focus drive our lives and can either help or hurt us. But to face the characteristics and elements of this world positively and effectively, a person must follow the best guide to life: The Bible. The Bible is how a person can tell what relationships are needed and how to balance the relationships between God and relationships with man. Total Independence

Very few people in life are totally independent; a person may even find it hard to remove him or herself from society. Many times removal from society is used as a punishment or a way to suppress the person, for example, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the islands of Elba and later to Saint Helena as an imprisonment.

In the Korean War, United States prisoners of war that were imprisoned were completely cut off from all other Americans. Why the enemies did this was to slowly deteriorate the moral and even sanity of the soldiers. Every day the enemies would give news of American defeat to the soldiers, which added to their solitude gave them nothing for which the soldiers could live. No explanation can be given to describe the cause of death besides loneliness; the soldiers would fall asleep to not awake again.

This can be seen on a smaller scale in the homes of some Americans too. The way some parents treat children may alienate them. Children will lose all social skills because they depend so much on parents because parents are there to give solace and comfort. For example, if a child is only shown hate and physical abuse what else does that child know? The only emotions taught to this child are hate and despise, that is the only emotion that the child knows how to give, not ever seeing love before as if he or she were outside of the home. Being inside the limits of the home as much as he or she is, would be classified as solitude for if the child was outside they could experience so much more.

This is the same with us in our relationships: If we are locked up, we have not truly opened up to the love that might be available for us elsewhere like what would be if we were dependant on God or man. This way of living is near impossible; just like the prisoners of war, we would have nothing for which we could live our lives making life meaningless.

The Extreme Possibilities of Dependence

The second overall option, and the first dependency option, is the option of having relationships with only man. Since the beginning of time, people have formed into tribes and like kinds of people to make life easier. The tribe would divide up the work into tasks that certain people would be able to accomplish easier. For example, the males would hunt for survival, defend the tribe if needed, and find protection against the weather while the women would gather certain foods and prepare the hunted food to provide for the families of the tribe. The system as a whole was very effective and helped the tribes flourish. Just like that, people can depend on other people to work together to flourish.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and 12 states that “Two are better than one…. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! …. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (NIV)

Not much else can be added to this verse, for it speaks in volumes. Everyone recognizes the power and abilities of a larger group compared to being an individual. To illustrate, Jane Elliot once conducted an experiment over her third grade classes in which I saw evident groups forming that fit to what is said in Ecclesiastes 4. Jane Elliot told her students one day that the blue-eyed people will be on the bottom and the brown-eyed people on the top. In these students, Jane experienced the brown-eyed students appearing to superior to the blue-eyed students. The brown-eyed students would mistreat the blue-eyed students, but what the blue-eyed children did was group together. Friends that had not been, soon were together in the harassment.

When Jane Elliot tested the children again and reversed the order of superiority, the blue-eyed children still were a nice group. The brown-eyed children, who were once individuals when they were at the top, were now forming groups at the bottom. The groups seemed to be formed out of need; out of want of solace and comfort.

The children of Jane Elliot’s third grade class understood Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 as anyone can relate to an aspect of these few verses. “It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth,” and also that, “By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst” (The Message).

The other extreme possibility of having a relationship is only depending on a relationship with God. This formerly was a popular belief during the Monastic Movement. This was a movement in which men would take a vow of poverty and solitude and go out into the wilderness and pray and be educated and spiritually grown (Kreis). This is all right, because at some points in a person’s life, friends may be hard to find. Possibly, there is a transition from living a sinful life to living a life full of God’s grace in which the person does not have the support of friends at first. But that should not be a worry, for God will not leave a person alone; He will come (John 14:18). Once God has come, He will give ample strength, help, and aid (Isaiah 41:10) to a person and nothing in this world can separate a person from that love and grace that is given by God (Romans 8:35-39, Deuteronomy 31:6). This series of verses is what was promised that was accomplished through prophets and monks, and also through any follower of Christ now.

Thus far, this is the most practical option of living life, for God promised us protection. Beyond that, we must realize that God was before we ever were. Genesis 1:1 states that, “In the beginning God…” and man was not there yet. We cannot live separate from God; on the contrary, God can live without us. Compared to our relation with God, nothing is near important.

Balancing Dependence

Even in the Monastic Movement, monks realized one major issue: That psychological disorders form when man has no other human relation. To solve this issue, the monk Pachomius gathered monks under a common rule to give them some fellowship. This way, when the monks were wandering around Europe and ran into pagans, the monks could teach the Gospel efficiently, not suffering from the lack of social skills. Soon after groups of monks were forming, monasteries were also made and Church reforms were more evident, which all proves that the fellowship and grouping was very effective.

Now, believers of Christ can learn from the monastic movement. If a person is alone God will be there and give strength and growth, but much growth can come from other believers. There are two steps to effectively growing in relationships. The first is live for God, building that relationship and focusing on that first and prior to any other relationship. The second, then, is to build relationships with other believers. This is often called the Body, or Church. With this relationship with other members of the Body, all believers are able to build each other up in Christ. Members are to “restore and reinstate” those believers that are seen to be overtaken in “misconduct and sin” (Galatians 6:1 AMP). Members are to build each other up and work together as one because “it is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Without the Body, or Church, we would not be able to build each other up and challenge such growth in the Spirit.

If a person keeps God and Jesus as the center of his or her relationships and then has a priority of other human relations to build on the first, then I Corinthians 12 is understood and practiced well. Chapter 12 explains how this Body of believers is supposed to act (much like human bodies). There are specific parts that complete certain tasks, but the overall task is the same. All of the parts work together. The parts of this body do not include physical parts, but parts of apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, comforters, and speakers of tongues. All gifts and talents can be used in its own respective way to complete goals. With no part being more important than another, each part can support another (since if one part suffers, the Body as a whole suffers). Then, as an ancient tribe, the parts share burdens and tackle the greatest burden which is freeing others that are lost in Satan’s lies, which ultimately builds the body even greater.

Conclusion

All of these groups, from monks to church groups, are formed and works as well as they do because of the priority of relationships. When God is the first and foremost, and then personal relationships with other members take the next priority, growth is possible. A person cannot live on just his or her own, being completely independent. Also, a person gains nothing without a relationship with God (ruling out dependency on only man), but to have the most efficient and valuable growth a person must balance relationships of that with God and man. Works Cited

1. Kreis, Steven. “Early Medieval Monasticism.” 26 February 2006. The History Guide. 25 September 2007. <http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture19b.html>