Bringing It All Together 6: Dignity and Depravity

Where are we now in discussing our view of people? We've talked humans as whole people, whose every part (physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, etc...) is meant to coexist as a connected whole, relating to God, self and others. Yes! That's a loaded summary statement of the last five posts.

But as wholly connected human people, we also have another 'tension of opposites' going on inside of us. Both are equally true:

1) Dignity: We were created by a good God and His creation of humans was good. There is a created goodness in every human being which gives dignity and worth to every person, all made in the image of God. Humans experience good and healthy longings for love, joy, hope, nurture, purpose, beauty, fulfillment, use of gifts, making a difference in the world... among others.

2) Depravity: The Fall has marred every aspect of our humanity. Our relationships with God, each other and ourselves are broken. They ways we go about seeking to meet our needs are broken. Our bodies, minds, emotions, thinking, etc... are broken. We experience the impact of the Fall in our own hearts, our relationships, and generally within the world everyday.

Dignity and Depravity are in play in every human on the planet.

By the way, what is different about the Christian? Well, just like the unbeliever, Christians are made in the image of God and experience the impact of internal and external depravity. But when a person becomes a Christian, the work of Christ on the cross, which inaugurated the reversal of the curse, is applied to them. The process of restoration has begun in their life. The process of becoming like Christ, working against depravity and restoring dignity, which God has promised will be complete ONE DAY when they meet him face to face has begun in real time NOW.

But why does this matter? Why is it important for the counselor how they view dignity and depravity? Because highlighting one to the exclusion of the other will kill the help you are offering. What do I mean?

Highlighting dignity over depravity would look like emphasizing a client's strengths, helping them to view themselves more positively in light of God's image within them. There is good listening, caring, empathy, and positive reinforcement. But there is no confrontation. There is no understanding of sin or brokenness. There is no facing one's internal mess. And thus, there is a distorted gospel with no need for a cross or a savior.

Highlighting depravity over dignity would look like an emphasis on drawing someone to see and own the effects of their sinfulness and identify ways that they seek to live their lives apart from God. There is a deep concern for confession and applying the cross to their problem, but there is no recognition of their God-given dignity. Ironically this leads to a shallow understanding of brokenness and sin, because the distorted image has no basis for recapturing the healthy longings that have been marred.

I wrote a post expanding on created goodness here.

What might this look like in the counseling room?

Scenario #1:
Say you have a distraught teenager sitting before you. Her parents were divorced two years ago. She is hungry for love, but she has never known what a healthy relationship looks like. She has been sexually active with her boyfriend for a year now. They both feel deeply emotionally connected to each other. Where will you go with her?

Will your "depravity" bell go off immediately and talk to her about the harmful effects of her sexual activity which God intends only for marriage? Or can you hold together the "dignity," which sees that her hunger to deeply connect is given by God, and that although the timing is wrong, that she is experiencing something that, at the right time, is beautiful and good? That while there is something wrong about her relationship with her boyfriend, there is also something right that she has never witnessed in her parents marriage?

A healthy anthropology says "YES!" there is something beautiful and good here. And "YES!" there is something broken and destructive here. (And by the way, the brokenness is all around you, not just within you.) You have to hold onto both.

Scenario #2:
Say you have a man before you who says, "I've been having an affair with a married woman for the last 5 years. I keep asking her to leave her husband, but she won't." And let's add the messy detail that your own dad had an affair and left your family when you were 12. Will your anger towards your own dad erupt on him? How dare he suggest breaking up a family? DEPRAVITY! DEPRAVITY! Or will you be able to hold the dignity together and have some compassion for this man's struggle so you can actually help him? You are not condoning an affair. You are not encouraging him to break up another family. But you are looking at the hurt done to him in his life story, and recognizing that an affair does not happen out of the blue. This man, the married woman he is having an affair, and his wife, are made of the image of God, and are also deeply broken. And you recognize that he is a relational being in the image of God whose desire to connect intimately, although deeply marred and causing harm to himself and a host of others, stems from a glorious God-given desire.

Can you hold the tensions together?