[276 words]
“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:17).
Karl Marx is credited with the statement that “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” Freud’s view of religion is well known: “Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis.” Atheists are quick to ridicule religious people like me as psychologically weak and unable to cope with the stark realities of life and need religion as a crutch.
Mocking, as they do, they believe puts me on the defensive to justify my faith in a personal God who loves me. I surrender. I admit it; I want a crutch.
There are two questions to ask concerning the need for a crutch: What is the problem, and is the remedy the correct one for the problem?
I openly acknowledge my problem. It is sin. I admit it. I am injured and want a crutch. The mockers will not admit it, I do. I am living in a fallen world. I have been injured through sin to the point that I need the help and support of my God.
The solution is a faith that commits to the Lord in complete surrender. It isn’t a sign of weakness to admit my need, and if someone wants to call my faith a crutch, so be it. I cannot walk the path that God has set before me without His assistance.
With such “assistance” I will reach my destination. But I can only reach it with my “crutch.” I not only want my crutch; I am thankful for it!
David Riley
Enola church of Christ
Enola, AR