The Lie We’ve Been Sold

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” – Genesis 2:24–25

We’ve been sold a dangerous lie—the idea that love is about finding someone who will “complete” us. It sounds poetic, but it’s poison wrapped in romance. From movies to music to social media, culture tells us to find our “missing piece,” as if another human could fix what’s broken inside of us. But Scripture tells a different story. We were not created to find completion in another person; we were created to find it in Christ.

Before Eve ever arrived in the garden, Adam walked in wholeness with God. He wasn’t lonely in a way that meant “incomplete”—he was longing for partnership, not purpose. His identity was already secure in his Creator. When God formed Eve, He didn’t give Adam someone to fix him; He gave him someone to join him. The two didn’t become complete—they became one.

That’s the beauty of biblical love. It’s not two halves trying to make a whole, but two whole people becoming something new in God’s hands. When we believe the cultural myth that another person can satisfy our deepest needs, we turn relationships into idolatry—expecting humans to do what only God can. And every idol eventually disappoints.

But when we root our identity in Christ, something powerful shifts. We stop demanding that others meet impossible expectations and start loving from fullness instead of emptiness. We stop asking, “What can this person do for me?” and begin asking, “How can we serve God together?”

Love isn’t about completion—it’s about commission. When you are whole in Christ, you’re finally free to love without fear, comparison, or demand.

Reflection Question
Where have you placed unrealistic expectations on others to meet needs that only Christ can satisfy, and how might that change if you lived from spiritual wholeness instead of emotional neediness?

Our culture has sold us a lie about love—teaching us to look for a soulmate who will complete us and fix all our problems. But Scripture says wholeness isn’t found in another person; it’s found in Christ alone.

Prayer
Lord, help me see that no relationship can fill the space You designed for Yourself. Forgive me for looking to others for the completion that only comes from You. Teach me to live whole in You—so that every relationship I have flows from the security of being loved, chosen, and complete in Christ. Amen.