Looking for Help

Jokes abound about the male driver who would rather drive around aimlessly for hours than to ask for help. But I don’t think that is just a male issue. We live in a culture that promotes a “fend for yourself,” isolationist mentality. It’s promoted by sentiments like “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” And the market abounds with do-it-yourself kits for everything from self-help psychiatry to home maintenance projects. In health care ethics, the concept that seems to trump all others is “autonomy.” Surely we live in a world that idolizes self-sufficiency and independence.

But the problem is that in doing so we violate our very being and even mess up our spiritual lives. God did not create us to be independent, but to be interdependent and ultimately dependent upon God. While God celebrates all of our abilities and capacities, they were never meant to become an excuse to rely on self instead of God. And what’s more, whatever is going on in our lives, God wants to be our help, our resource, our source. We just need to stop driving around aimlessly and ask.

Lord, today I ask you for the help I need in (you fill in the blank). Thank you that I can rely on your help in all circumstances. Amen. — CN