Savior Complex

 

One of my best friends (no, not Jesus, or my mom,) recently introduced me to this term and how it applied to his own life and relationships, and I realized that many, (if not most people, and especially Christians,) can also be caught in this deadly trap.

Christ was made to be our sacrifice. He is our Savior. He is the One we are meant to bring our sins to for healing, the One we are to go to in prayer and in a humble spirit, the One made to save us from ourselves… He is the answer to every problem we will ever have, in some way, in every way, He is our Source.

Yet, we all to often try to take on this roll of a savior for the people we hold dear to us. (I’m guilty too.) We try to be the answer to all their problems, the band-aid to all their hurts, the medicine to all their illness, the doctor to their disease, and the sacrifice to all their sins… And that, is plainly wrong.  It isn’t how things were made BY GOD to be. If we were made to be each other’s saviors, there would be no need for Jesus. 

But, as I hope we can agree to, we are all in desperate need for Him – so why is it we think we can take upon His Cross as our own, and become the superficial antidote to a fellow sinner, the cure to a fellow human’s sins, past, and pain?

I think it boils down to pride. Of course there is a form of love involved, because you obviously care about that person very deeply, to want to help them so much, but who are YOU, who are WE, to believe we're even remotely capable of helping someone else fix their whole life when we can barely keep ours in order??

My friend was strong enough to see that truth, that we are imperfect, and thusly cannot be capable of being that. He realized that as much as it hurt, he had to let a certain relationship go in order for him to work on his relationship with God. Was this an easy choice? No. Not at all. It was extremely trying, both emotionally and spiritually, for him, and I’m sure for the other person involved, but he did it. He had to. We are only responsible for our own spirituality, and he saw clear enough to comprehend that. He understood that he had no business being someone else’s savior when he was in need of his Own.

We cannot be a savior to anyone. No one has that right. Only God. All we can do is help lead them in His direction.