Is Christianity a Security Blanket?
Someone I work with recently told me that he thought religion was just a security blanket and nothing more. He didn’t elaborate, but I assume he meant that religion is just something people invent to comfort themselves — one might say the “opium of the people.” I don’t think he was quoting Marx, but he offered a similar sentiment.
And it’s not hard to see where he gets the idea. I recently overhead a segment on a Christian radio station where listeners called in and shared their favorite part about being a Christian. Without fail, all three or four callers described the feeling of knowing God is always with them.
Or consider contemporary worship. I think many view worship as an opportunity to be comforted or uplifted. It’s no wonder people view Christianity as a security blanket when the slogan of one of the most popular Christian radio stations is “Positive Encouraging K-LOVE.”
Not a Security Blanket
However, Christianity is not a security blanket. It is not the product of our imagination, designed to comfort us. If we humans were to contrive a religion for comfort, it would look nothing like Christianity.
The nature of the Gospel is not that of a security blanket. If humans were to fabricate a religion to comfort them, would it not just affirm humans in their natural state? The ancient Greeks did just that. They created the gods in their own image. They imagined gods that behaved exactly as they did in order to justify their own behavior. They dreamt up jealous and immature gods who bickered, lied, stole, manipulated, raped, and killed. In other words, they invented anthropomorphic gods that affirmed their own sinful desires and actions.
But Christianity is entirely different. Christianity makes no attempt to justify our sinful actions. The Gospel is the story of our relationship with a perfect, sinless God, to whom even our best deeds are but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The Bible does not sugarcoat the reality of our wretched state. According to Scripture, we do not measure up to God’s standard (Romans 3:23). We are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). We are “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). We are slaves to sin, whose wages is death (Romans 6:23). Does that sound comforting? No. The Bible condemns us. It tells us we’re not good enough. It tells us we deserve to die.
Further, Christ makes the cost of following him quite clear. He said to those who would follow him, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head: (Luke 9:58). And to the one who first wished to bury his father, he replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Luke 9:60).
Jesus did not promise comfort to his followers. Instead he promised suffering: “If anyone would come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
Clearly, Christianity is not a security blanket. If I were only seeking comfort, I wouldn’t look to Christianity. It is not something the intellectually weak blindly believe in to escape a more depressing nihilism. If I were having an existential crisis, I wouldn’t turn to Christianity. I might look to some ambiguous “spirituality,” but certainly not to Christianity.
Comfort in Christianity
Of course, while Christianity may not be the handiwork of the human imagination designed to provide comfort or security, it proves to be the only source of true and eternal comfort. Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He invites those who weary and burdened:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
This might seem to contradict my claim that Christianity is not a security blanket, but the comfort found in Christianity does not appeal to those who seek comfort first and foremost. Those who primarily desire comfort will turn tail and run when they encounter the real Gospel. When they read Paul’s word to Timothy that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12), they will look the other way.
Only those who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) will wholeheartedly commit to following Christ. Only those who value his kingdom and his righteousness more than they worry about food or drink or clothing will find the Gospel palatable. The Gospel will not appeal to those who seek first comfort or place their anxiety about worldly concerns above their desire for the kingdom.
But to those who do seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, “all these things will be added to you.” Any anxiety about food or clothing melts into the background. Every earthly concern loses its significance. Worries about suffering disappear. Even death loses its sting. There is no anxiety, concern, worry, or fear that can truly shake the Christian. Not because there won’t be cause for such things — for Christ promises that we will suffer — but because the Christian casts all his anxieties on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). With Paul, the Christian says
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13).