Is Christianity a Crutch?

I’ve sometimes heard people call Christianity a crutch. It is a term used in derision, to say that it is just a way for emotionally weak people to cope with life. When I’ve heard that attack, I’ve felt compelled to defend why Christianity is not a crutch. But I wonder if that's really the right response.

I think the question to ask in response to that accusation is: Why is calling Christianity a crutch a valid criticism of Christianity? That is not the way people normally respond to crutches. When you see a guy with a broken leg walking around on crutches, you do not mock him and speak of his weakness for using a crutch. The crutch is good. So if Christianity is a crutch, why is that such a bad thing?

The assumption of those who criticize Christianity on that ground is that if Christianity is a crutch, then it is only good for cripples. And they are exactly right. Their problem, and it is a deadly problem, is that they do not see themselves as weak enough to need a crutch in this life. It is offensive to the modern mindset, that we are broken and needy and sick, and dependent on Another for everything. So people criticize it and mock it.

The only people who will give heed to Jesus’ call are sick people, broken people, spiritually and morally crippled people. If we could all see ourselves properly, we would see ourselves this way. The problem with us is that we think we’re well. We have been told in a thousand ways that the way to happiness is in the pursuit of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-determination, self-exaltation and self-esteem. Jesus loves us too much to let us persist down this dead-end road. So at the beginning of His most famous sermon (see Matthew 5-7), He tells us the pathway to true happiness: it begins with seeing yourself as a helpless cripple:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Is Christianity a crutch? Yes, I suppose in a way it is. May God give all of us eyes to see that we're desperately crippled.