"You're Perfect Just the Way You Are," But Are We?

Current culture and pop theology repeatedly tell us, "You're perfect just the way you are." But are we? Are we happier, less anxious, or medicated? Why is it that mental health problems are being described in crisis terms, yet we have more therapy available than ever before? Why if we have more things, more toys, more financial wherewithal, we're living longer, yet we're now less happy and more anxious than any developed country? And if we're perfect the way we are, what is the source of our problems? How can I fix the problem when the problem is me? 
As American culture secularizes, moves ever more into what's called a post-Christian culture, we leave behind the backstop, the safety net that used to be there for many of us when we hit the wall. Without Christian faith, without church attendance, without an understanding of the fallen world in which we live and the sin within our own hearts, how can we possibly fix ourselves? We can't. We must recognize we are not perfect. We need God the Father and the consolation, providence, protection, and joy he offers. For more Christian commentary, see my website at https://rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and videos.
#mentalhealth #therapy #Christianfaith #anxiety #depression

Transcript

In our hyper-sensitive culture, we’re afraid to note the real source of our problems, but is this making us happier, less anxious or medicated? 

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #170 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Current culture, even pop theology, suggests that everyone is OK, and no one is responsible for the bad, wrong-doing, sin, or evil in their lives or in this world.

We hear it regularly. “You are perfect just the way you are.” Or “God accepts you as you are.”

Idea is no change is necessary. But wait, isn’t the Gospel about transformation? 

This is another of mankind’s theories that come at us one after the other, and which come and go, while God’s Word never changes.

In March 2018, actor Chris Pratt was given the MTV Our Generation Award. In his speech, he shared what he called “Nine rules from Chris Pratt, Generation Award winner." One of his statements was: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.”

Another statement was: “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.” After some silly bathroom humor and a few minor tips like how to give medicine to a dog, he concluded with: “Learn to pray. It's easy, and it's so good for your soul.” And finally, “Nobody is perfect. People are going to tell you, ‘You're perfect just the way you are.’ You're not! You are imperfect. You always will be. But there is a powerful force that designed you that way. And if you're willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. And like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else's blood. Do not forget it. Don't take it for granted. God bless you.”

Now I do not know why Chris Pratt shared these comments at the MTV Awards, a venue known for raunchy content, nor do I know if Chris is serious about Christian faith. And I do not know whether his life and lifestyle match his words. I do know that in this instance, what he said for the most part aligns with biblical truth, so I am glad he said it.

He reminded an audience generally focused on hedonism, narcissism, materialism if not also nihilism, that there is a God, he listens if you pray, and you are not perfect, so you need him. In a Hollywood context, this is radical stuff.

Back in 2002, Pastor Rick Warren published what became an international bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? I have long thought that the genius of that book is its first sentence: “It’s not about you.” The book's chapter one is titled "It All Starts with God.”

“Rick Warren described his book as an ‘anti-self-help book.’…(He explains) how the quest for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding and doing what God placed you on earth to do.”

This, of course, is a dramatic contrast to psychology books like I’m OK, You’re OK, published in 1969 by Thomas A. Harris. Books like this and countless others make the same point over and over. They basically say in different words, “Look inside yourself. You don’t need to change.” Or maybe they say, “you can change yourself.” The problem is, neither idea is true.

How can I change myself when I am the problem? Well, I can’t, but current culture and pop theology argue that our problems emanate from places other than ourselves.

It’s the environment – not nature per se, but our everyday surroundings, our culture, our families. Or it’s that we have been cheated and mistreated by something or someone other than ourselves. We are oppressed by oppressors. Corporations or capitalism are high on this list of oppressors. 

We medicalize or psychologize the idea of sin by rooting wrongdoing and hurtful outcomes in mental illness. I’m not saying there is no such thing as actual mental illness, and I am certainly not throwing a rock at anyone who has had mental health struggles. Nor am I against psychology as such. Never have been.

What I am concerned about is that I believe some of what was once considered a spiritual issue handled in the family and the church, based upon an application of the Word of God is now immediately shipped off to therapists. It’s part of the secularization of American culture, also now described as a post-Christian culture.

Meanwhile, “the U.S. has reached peak therapy. Counseling has become fodder for hit books, podcasts, and movies. Professional athletes, celebrities, and politicians routinely go public with their mental health struggles. And everyone is talking—correctly or not—in the language of therapy, peppering conversations with references to gaslighting, toxic people, and boundaries.…by the latest federal estimates, about one in eight U.S. adults now takes an antidepressant and one in five has recently received some kind of mental-health care, an increase of almost 15 million people in treatment since 2002. Even in the recent past—from 2019 to 2022—use of mental-health services jumped by almost 40% among millions of U.S. adults with commercial insurance, according to a recent study in JAMA Health Forum.”

“But something isn’t adding up. Even as more people flock to therapy, U.S. mental health is getting worse by multiple metrics. Suicide rates have risen by about 30% since 2000. Almost a third of U.S. adults now report symptoms of either depression or anxiety, roughly three times as many as in 2019, and about one in 25 adults has a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. As of late 2022, just 31% of U.S. adults considered their mental health “excellent,” down from 43% two decades earlier.”

So, despite the fact we have more things, more toys, more financial wherewithal, more health and medical care, we’re living longer, still, we evidence more anxiety, are the most medicated citizenry on earth via opioids and other drugs, and in terms of happiness, while “the U.S. ranks in the top 10 for those over 60, but for those under 30, it ranks 62nd.”

American culture has been on a secular slide since at least mid-20th Century. Americans now believe anything, everything, and therefore nothing. And these ideas have consequences.

This shows up in declining church attendance and thus a decline in the exhortation, encouragement, or accountability Bible-believing churches offer, slow erosion of Christian ideas and values undergirding everyday life, like respect for human life, consensus about law and criminal justice, decline in knowledge of and commitment to Christian values like honesty, work ethic, vision for growth or excellence, loss of moral boundaries regarding sexual behavior or fidelity in marriage with corresponding increases in traumatic emotional upheaval in the lives of both children and adults, disappearing belief in truth in education, science, law, business, a rejection of the presence and blessedness of a belief in divine providence, a breakdown in what I call a backstop or safety net.

In other words, sooner or later we all encounter some circumstance we cannot handle. We run into something we cannot deal with, something that overwhelms us emotionally and maybe otherwise too. It is in these times that we need a backstop or safety net, something we fall back on. If a person is not a Christian believer, if a person does not attend church or have family or other social support, if a person does not believe in God or has no relationship with him, what is their backstop in times of trial?

If there is no Christian beliefs we’ve absorbed like osmosis from our culture, and if we possess no understanding of our own about who God is and how he works in our lives, we are left in emotional freefall. We have nothing to catch us, nothing to turn to, nothing to fill the void or provide solace or encouragement, so we spin out of control. We maybe turn to pills. 

Do we look inside ourselves and say, “Keep calm and carry on.” Do we decide, we’re OK and just soldier on? Does this work? Not for most people. 

No, we’re not perfect, and our ability to live an abundant life is not about us. What we need is a real relationship with the God the Father, about whom it is said, “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul” (Ps 94:19). 

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video. 

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024   

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers or https://x.com/RexMRogers.