A different way to look at Christian Deconstruction

What is something you couldn’t live without?

If you answered “oxygen” like a smart ass, congratulations. That’s exactly where I want you to set the bar for a moment.

It’s fair to say most deconstructing Christians look at the term through the eyes of faith, which isn’t wrong. But I invite you to see deconstruction through the lens of that question: What are the things you can’t live without?

Some answers will come to mind immediately. Others might appear to you throughout the day as they make their subtle ubiquity known. You might think of relationships or feelings or states of mind that seem indelible on the face of your identity or essential for sane survival.

Take inventory of those things, those needs, those must-have or must-maintain building blocks of your existence on earth, because the things we can’t live without? Those are the constructs that form the structure of our lives.

The more honest and real you are with your answers to that question, the more clearly you will see the parts of your life that are more wall than way. That is to say, when you must have someone or something in your life, you cannot simply walk away in a new direction. That need has constructed itself into a wall in your mind and in your will. You will not pass unless that need is dismantled into something else.

Necessity transforms the elements in your journey from companions to confines.

This isn’t to say that needing someone or something is bad or weak. But needing is different from appreciation or gratitude. Whatever or whomever you need in your life changes the structure of who you are and how your life is built. I won’t tell anyone how to construct their lives, but I will ask you to make sure that the life you’ve built out of what you need is truly the life you want.

I believe you can change your life without leaving those needs behind. You can revolutionize your mindset and your sense of peace simply by redefining your relationship to those people, those concepts, those possessions (and those beliefs you need to be true) from I need this to I love this.

If you don’t think there’s any difference, try it. See what happens.