EPISODE 3 – Still Human. Still in the Beginning.
Disclaimer – this podcast does not contain any advice for mental health concerns. If you have mental health concerns contact your GP and seek their advice. Know that I am praying for your healing.
You’re listening to the podcast, The Chaise Lounge Theologian in which we do theology half lying down with our eyes closed and releasing our repressed childhood memories. Well, perhaps and perhaps not. More seriously, this podcast explores a systematic theology of mental health and in the previous episode I was discussing the opening chapters of the Bible.
Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis are so full of information about what it means to be human, so much so, that I’m still hanging out in them for this, Episode Three: Still Human. Still in the Beginning. As in Episode Two, I’ll be operating from the premise that in Genesis 1 and 2 we can gain a right understanding of God’s creative design for humanity. The world of psychology might call this ‘Identity Firmness’. And through understanding our identity more firmly we gain a greater awareness of our value – identity importance – and become clearer about our role in the world. All of this works together to decrease our identity discrepancy.
As I explained in Episode Two, there is research that suggests that having higher Identity Firmness and Identity Importance and lower Identity Discrepancy correlates with higher levels of mental health and wellbeing.
So Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are good for our mental health.
Because in Genesis 1 and 2 we come to understand why relationships are so important and so intricately connected to who we are as humanity. And we also are given a reason why rest and resting well is part of the natural and needed rhythm of life in this world. Both are set in play by who God is and how He operates.
Before I go any further, at this point I would normally run through the systematic theology tools of context, genre, structure and biblical theology. However, having explored all of those already in relation to these chapters, bar the last one, in the previous episode, I’ll skip over them for now. But I will keep my promise and explore the biblical theology of the passage in this episode.
In episode two, we left the first human created, Adam, in the garden being a taxonomist and naming all the animals. Whilst I didn’t explicitly state it last time, it’s not too difficult to infer that in the fresh new creation, that Adam is in, at this point, all alone.
Here’s Genesis chapter 2 verses 18-20:
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adamno suitable helper was found.
For the first time ever, God says that in this good creation something is ‘not good’. This is quite a statement. At the end of the first chapter of Genesis we are told that “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” For God to now say that something is not good, it should make us sit up and pay attention.
Something is not good: Adam is alone.
And God actually notices this. That is an application point to take away from the first two chapters of Genesis. When we are alone, when we are lonely – God knows. He notices it.
The God of the Bible is actually acutely aware of what our situation in life is like and considers what impact it might have on us and our mental health. And when the impact could be negative, God says – that is not good.
It’s no secret that men’s mental health is a massive issue. The Australian organisation, Beyond Blue explains that there is a definite stigma that stops men reaching out and getting help for their mental health. Only 37% of men and boys seek help when they need it. Part of the reason for this, Beyond Blue say, are the social expectations about what masculinity should look like and the ideas suggesting that issues with mental health are not part and parcel of being a man[1].
However, it appears that had God not intervened, issues with mental health would have been part and parcel of the experience of the very first man, Adam.
Adam was made to work. He was also made to rule. But he was made to do so in partnership. And weren’t we all?
It’s not just men. Our whole world is well associated with loneliness.
The Global State of Social Connections- report estimated that in 2022, 24% of people worldwide felt either very lonely or fairly lonely[2]. That’s almost a quarter of the world’s population feeling very much like Adam would have in the garden. The God of the Bible noticed Adam’s loneliness, so I will logically infer that God is also aware of how many people are lonely in contemporary society.
But back in the garden, God also notices that the animals are insufficient to meet Adam’s need for a helper.
What do we make of this insufficiency?
What I think we shouldn’t make of this, is some sort of wild claims that God is against companion animals or animal therapy. Animal therapy as a therapeutic modality has shown itself to do a world of good, particularly for those previously involved in the armed forces or law enforcement. It would be cruel and incorrect to say that Christianity was against animal therapy. That would be stopping people from receiving a treatment that they might find did them a world of good.
Tidball & Tidball explain that “As the crown of God’s creation, Adam had been entrusted with the responsibility of filling the earth and subduing it…How could he fill the earth with his own kind, since as a male without a female companion procreation was impossible? As David Clines has said tongue-in-cheek, ‘Camels are all very well, and they can be a great help. But when it comes to the purpose God has in mind, camels are no help at all’.[3].”
And that is why, in our current world whenever we hear of people who have married some inanimate object or their pet, we stop and think – they did what? In a subtle implication, God makes it clear in the opening pages of Genesis that bestiality or zoophilia are evidence of a mind with an unclear understanding of what it means to be human.
And the DSM – The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – since its third version has identified either bestiality or zoophilia or both, in various categories of mental health disorders.
God saw Adam in his state of being all alone. God is in tune with us and our wellbeing concerns. This is actually utterly remarkable. The God of the universe knows our needs. God knew that Adam needed Eve.
Because Adam and all of humanity are relational beings. But why is that? Why is it that people even experience loneliness? Why is there even a void that needs to be filled?
Because our very lonely, modern world knows that we are relational beings. Whether they know the reason why we are relational beings, could be another matter though.
Genesis 1: 26-27:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
We are relational beings because God is. If God wasn’t relational then there would be no loneliness pandemic. No need to call friends at 2am in the morning. No need for friends at all.
But the God of the Bible is a relational God. This is the doctrine of the Trinity, which deserves its own podcast in itself. However, let me just make a short scenic route discussion of the concept. The doctrine of the Trinity is in some senses extremely complex and in other ways, quite simple. If you’ve ever seen a piece of technology, likely near a computer, that had the capability to print, copy and scan, then you should be able to understand the doctrine of the Trinity. Sure, it’s not the greatest analogy – hardly a dynamic relationship between the three – however, the concept of there being only one entity but three different expressions of it, is there.
Another model of the Trinity that someone shared with me once went like this:
They held their two hands up in front of them, body width apart, like two walls or bookends, and they said: “There’s the Father” Gesturing with one bookend “And the Son” Gesturing with the other bookend “and the Spirit is an energy that bounces back and forth between the Father and the Son”. Whilst they said this, they alternated, from one hand to the next, curling up their fist into a little ball and bouncing it on the palm of their opposite hand. Then they switched to curling up their other fist and bouncing it on the palm of their opposite hand, now standing up like a bookend again. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Some may criticise that model and say that an energy isn’t personable. We often talk about the three Persons of the Godhead when referring to the Trinity. To this criticism, however, I ask two questions 1) What is your definition of personable? And 2) How do you know that a spiritual energy is not that?
Regardless, the model shows the dynamic relational nature of the eternal God, dancing relationally back and forth within Himself. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul in his writing often at the start or end of his letters, or during some blessing or benediction frequently draws upon the triune (three part) nature of God. 2 Corinthians 13:14 is a good example of this, where Paul writes:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” A triplet blessing. Three in One. All dynamically working together, here in a written blessing, which is often spoken at the end of church services.
OK, Short Scenic Route over. Back to the passage and the implications for our mental health.
We are relational beings because God is a relational being and the Bible says we have been made in His image. We’ve been made in some way like Him. What this means is that for our mental health and our health generally to be on the level, we need relationships! We need friends. We need to talk to random strangers (when it’s safe to do so). We should get to know the name of our local retail and grocery store workers – and then stop to chat when we can. We should frequent the same cafes, not just so the barista will know our order without asking – large latte with lactose free milk – but so that we can get to know them as a person in the little chats we can have with them as they pour out the milk.
What does it mean to live biblically? This is what it means to live biblically. Living in a society. Living in a relational and sustainable community. Talking to each other.
And unsurprisingly, it’s backed up by research. Dr Gillian Sandstrom lectures in psychology at the University of Essex and studies “minimal social interactions” which is exactly what I’m talking about now. She’s of the opinion that these “seemingly insignificant social interactions with strangers and acquaintances… can influence and improve our well-being[4].” How fantastic.
However, there is a lot in our world that is instead leading to the very opposite of genuine social interactions. Technology and our dependence on it is most definitely a culprit. The lack of genuine face to face contact that is not only permitted but encouraged by social media and technology in general is tearing us away from each other. Busyness and the need for convenience is another factor. Whilst I would much prefer to front up to my local grocery store, I’ll admit that whilst writing this podcast episode I was waiting for the delivery of my weekly groceries to my door. Maybe if I wasn’t working a full-time job and writing podcasts, I’d have time to front up to the local grocery store.
But neither is getting groceries delivered to my front door unbiblical. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial”. That’s a line from the New Testament that shouldn’t be taken out of context, but the point is clarified half a chapter later, where it says: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” A balanced approach to these things is healthy and the balanced approach will know there is no hard and fast rule. I don’t have to feel guilty because I went to a different café today or ordered my groceries online instead of being present with the community in my local suburb.
If I am aiming to glorify God, I won’t stick to some rigid, never changing mode of operation because that actually seems rather mentally unhealthy and even sounds like a Personality Disorder. Perhaps something obsessive, such as what you might find in a Cluster C Personality Disorder in the DSM. Rather, the balanced, biblical mind will not be obsessively controlling but rather have the flexibility to ask God what He would have them do this time: “What Lord, is beneficial this time? What will glorify you today?”
Let’s not get anxiety about the times when we don’t talk to people because we’re genuinely in a hurry or we shop online because it frees us up for other God glorifying activities. I am a human. I have been made to work. So I spend a lot of my time working, but I also make sure I factor in a solid amount of time meeting with others in a social capacity as well. Why? Because I am a human. I have been made in God’s image. Therefore I am a relational being.
Before I move on, I’ll add that I usually shout out a “Thank you and have a good day”, to the delivery person who has brought my groceries. By the time I get to the door, they’re usually halfway down the stairwell, so I have to shout, down the stairwell. But I have surmised a few times, due to the tone of voice of their reply, that perhaps I was the first person to acknowledge their existence that day as they drove around Sydney city delivering groceries to random strangers.
There’s more than one way to help our mental health and the mental wellbeing of others.
So then, what other applications can we draw out of Genesis 1 and 2 if we are made in God’s image. Well is we are made in God’s image; we are made to rest. As it says at the start of chapter two:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Some traditions of Christianity might make one think that rest and self-care are unbiblical, but the opposite is true. It is good and right to take time out to rest and look after oneself. If God, the creator of the entire universe takes a break, surely we as vastly weaker human beings can do so too.
We are not the centre of the universe. We are not gods. We are just made in His image. So we can learn from him of the need for rest.
Biblical wisdom is of course required to determine how much rest is good and when rest is becoming slothful. Consider the proverb: “Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.” Again, there’s a required balance.
But rest and self-care in and of itself is grafted into our human design.
Yet there might be some methods of self-care that could lead us to question whether they are biblical or not. Anything that sits outside the moral code of the Bible is obviously not resting in a manner that God permits. Rather, they are an example of sin.
Any sort of meditation that encourages thinking outside of Biblical ideas or in contradiction with Biblical ideas, also, cannot be resting as God intended us to rest.
And should we be filling our minds or emptying our minds as Christians?
Any encouragement to empty your mind is in fact outside of Biblical thinking. The Bible tells us to be alert and sober minded (1 Peter 5). It also tells us to have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2). To set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3).
We should be filling our minds instead, but it is critical that we filter what comes into our minds. For:
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8) Or The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4).
However, to be thinking about whether we should be emptying or filling our minds, could miss the point. Because the Bible often commands us to remove one thing from our life, but to not then just leave things vacant. Instead we are to actively fill the gap with good things instead. For example:
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. (Colossians 3)
So rest and self-care is Biblical. But there are ways in which we can do that which may be unbiblical. We need to use our minds in order to rest our minds well.
I said I’d get to Biblical Theology a bit later, so here’s some before I finish this episode. Just like God saw Adam’s needs, he sees our needs too because God doesn’t change. That’s His character. So one can assume that when God looks at us and sees what we need, He will provide us with that too.
God does see you today and He does want to provide you with good things. Because He is the God who made you and who loves you and cares for you. You are seen by the Almighty God of heaven and He knows how you are feeling right now. Whether you feel alone or not. Whether your mental health is in tip top shape, or there have been better days. God knows your needs, for relationships or otherwise, and He will in His time, provide you with all your need.
For when we look through the pages of the Bible we see a continuation of the human design established in Genesis 1 and 2, in which God identified our need for relationships. As we explore the pages of the Bible we see God saying that the ultimate relationship we need, is a relationship with Jesus. And if we read the Bible, we see that God has done everything that needed to be done for that relationship to occur. If God did this, then surely he will organise all other needs that we have. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like God loves us, but if we are in Christ, then He most certainly does. Because think about it logically: The Father loves the Son. If you are in the Son then God cannot not love you, even if He tried. And He wouldn’t try. No one can rob from you what God has already says is yours.
As it says in that famous passage in Romans 8:
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less[5].”
Until next time, keep looking up – to God.
Podcast Backing Track: “Pure” by Matt Wigdon. Licence purchased from Soundstripe
[1] Beyond Blue, (2026) https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/mens-mental-health
[2] Gallup & Meta, (2023) https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/health-wellbeing/social-isolation-and-loneliness#Comparisons
[3] Tidball & Tidball (2012), The Message of Women: Creation, Grace and Gender, p.35. ‘The Bible Speaks Today’ series. IVP.
[4] American Psychological Association, (2026), https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/talk-strangers
[5] Yancey, P. (1997), What’s so Amazing about Grace?