Objection! Christianity is a crutch.

Christianity is a crutch. Actually, it is much more embarrassing than that. If we want to stick with a medical analogy, I would say that Christianity is more like life support.

During the year after my back surgery, I got hooked on apologetics (Defending the Christian faith). As I mentioned in my testimony of faith I took a journalist's approach when I was seeking spiritual truth. I researched every religion I could find anything written about and I was NOT going to be one of those religious persons who found a blind faith all because of a "feeling it was right". No, I wanted facts. I wanted the truth. After weeks upon weeks of reading and researching I finally found truth in Christianity.  Any book I could find that promised to answer questions I had about Christianity, I bought and read without hesitating. Most of these books proved to be very helpful as I met non-Christians and was able to give them reasons why Christianity was true. However  as I sought out to evangelize the good news of Christ there has always been one "argument" that I hated, simply because I didn't have a good answer for it:

"Christianity is a crutch!"

It isn't much of an argument, but it is definitely an accusation that needs to be answered. What people mean by saying this is, "You are weak and have a hard time accepting reality. Reality is that you will die and then cease to exist, but you can't handle that, so you make up God, heaven, and the Bible." Recently I also was told, "That's great (Christianity) if YOU need that....but I don't" Again, referring to the fact that as a "weak person in need", I have a NEED for Christianity. This person is in sense saying "I've got life under control, I'm good...I don't NEED God" These are both pretty good accusations, but the reason why they are good is because they have a lot of truth to them.

What people don't understand when they make this accusation is that they have a misconceived idea of what state the world is actually in.  If the world were a perfect place, crutches would not be needed, but because the world is incredibly messed up with tons of pain, hurt, and sin, crutches are a necessity. Whoever invented the first pair of crutches didn't do it to make a fashion statement or because it would make for a fun way to walk! They invented crutches because someone hurt their foot, knee or leg and needed help getting around.  No one in their right mind would go up to a person with a broken leg and make fun of them for using crutches because crutches are not a bad thing when are broken.

So now when people fire off the accusation that Christianity is a crutch, I wholeheartedly agree with them! It is a crutch, and crutches are incredibly helpful when you have a broken leg. In this world, we not only have an occasional broken leg, but also broken hearts and lives because of sin.  Sin has messed up this world drastically, and both you and I play a starring role in that drama.  Because of our sin, we are in deep need, we are hurting, and we need help.  Jesus is the best crutch that we could ever imagine.   He not only helps us get around in this world, but also saves us from this world and ourselves.

In Luke 2, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." The problem is that we are all sinners.  The bigger problem is that most don't think so. The only thing more embarrassing than walking on crutches is limping around without them in pain pretending everything is okay. We need Jesus and He alone can heal us.

Everyone needs a crutch. It's not so much a question of whether you have one, but it is more of a question of what your particular crutch is. Unfortunately we often make other things our crutch: sex, money, our career, popularity, power, etc. In fact rather than being viewed as signs of weakness, many of these crutches are even considered to be relatively normal in society, provided they don't turn into the more destructive behavior associated with strong addiction. Nevertheless, many of these only offer a short-term release from the struggles of life and they sometimes only cover up deeper problems that a person might be suffering from. To suggest, therefore, that atheists are somehow stronger than believers is to deny the darker side of humanity, which is only too apparent if we look at the world around us.

The God of the Bible is awesome and appears to many to be a threat to mankind.  A God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, righteous, holy, and just, and who is going to judge the world for it's sin, is an extremely imposing figure to ponder.  Thus it is only fair to point out that some need the crutch of denying God's existence in order to live their lives as they please without fear of judgment.  None of these crutches will last.  They are like crutches made of soggy cardboard.  We need a solid crutch that can actually support us. So if you are a believer and someone accuses you that you are weak and need a crutch, nod your head and agree with them.  That is exactly who Jesus came to save.

Once again it comes back to the real issue which is the person of Jesus Christ. Does mankind need to lean on Him, or can we lean on something else? Jesus made the issue very clear,

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash" (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV)

It is important to mention however that the crutch of Christianity is NOT based on the objection that believers created or invented a Father like God to comfort themselves. If Christians were just looking for a God who would simply  function as a crutch to make life easier to bear, why come up with a God who is holy and just, a God who finds many of our desires and thoughts to be immoral?  Shouldn't that be the last sort of God we would want to make up if we just wanted a crutch to get through life?  Wouldn't we want a God who just nods at all our behavior and desires? I certainly would have. If I was making up a God before I was a Christian he would have been the very opposite of the God I've just described.  Why come up with a God who is impossible to please by our good works and effort? The truth of the matter is that Jesus never offered a crutch, only a cross; it wasn't a call to be a better person with high self esteem or a plan to help us scrape through our existence. It was a call to acknowledge that the forgiveness we all seek is to be found in him by following Him onto the cross. The Bible says that all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Because the wages of sin is death, Jesus died in our place so we could have a relationship with God....and what a relationship it is! My relationship with God is the most important relationship in my life. I look to Him daily to help me. I worship Him in thanksgiving and praise, I petition Him for help in prayer and I give Him my troubles and earthly concerns.

In conclusion, as I have discussed....Christianity in one sense is a crutch. But it is more than a crutch; it is the sure foundation, the truth of life.  If Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and creates us to be in a fellowship through Him, then to call Him a crutch would be like a light bulb saying to an electrical socket, "You are my crutch". As a light bulb was created to function properly when inserted into the socket, so we have been created to function properly in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.