Embracing Our Interdependence on God and Others

The first aspect of Johann Metz’s account of becoming fully human is to honor how deeply our sense of self and capacity to flourish depend on a network of relationships with God, others, and the rest of creation. Students’ reflections demonstrate that, in order to become fully human, we must let go of the belief fueled by popular culture that self-worth, success, and happiness result from a lifestyle marked by self-sufficiency, competition, perfectionism, wealth, materialism, and high social status. Instead, recalling our special dignity as persons created in the image of God, we must reclaim a vision of our intrinsic self-worth and embrace our interdependence on God and others. Both my students’ and Johann Metz’s analyses of Western culture shed light on why hookups appear psychologically safer and more “reasonable” than committed relationships.