“What does the Bible say about codependency?”……Answer: Codependency is a mental health term coined within the past two decades to describe people who form or maintain relationships that are one-sided, emotionally destructive and/or abusive. Originally, codependent was a term used to describe partners in chemical dependency, persons living with, or in a relationship with, an addicted person. Today, however, the term has been broadened to describe any codependent person from any dysfunctional family.……Codependency can be destructive to individuals because of their need to control others and their belief that they are somehow more capable than others. They may feel compassion for people who are hurting and feel they should be the one to help them. Codependent people give of their time, emotions, finances, and other resources. They have a very difficult time saying “no” when asked to volunteer, attend a function, or help a friend. The idea of not volunteering, not helping or not attending is unthinkable. Conversely, codependents may be overly controlled by others. Because it is nearly impossible for codependents to say “no,” they may find themselves the victims in physically and emotionally abusive relationships. They believe that if they can be good enough, or loving enough, they can change the other person’s behavior. They sometimes blame themselves for the abusive behavior: “If only I had not forgotten to do the dishes, he would not have had to hit me.”……The Bible does not address codependency as such, but Scripture does have much to say about interdependency, which is the state of being mutually and physically responsible to, and sharing a common set of principles with, others. In the case of husband and wife, the Bible clearly indicates that both spouses are dependent on each other for completion. Genesis 2:24 says: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Because both Jesus and Paul quoted this verse as the foundation of marriage, these three elements-leaving, cleaving, uniting-are often referred to by marriage counselors as the major principles which give a marriage its biblical foundation. Other passages which show this codependence of husband and wife are: Ephesians 5:22-331Timothy 5:8Proverbs 31:10-31. As each spouse fulfills his or her role, the other one benefits from it. This is a biblical form of interdependency which should be embraced, not avoided, as so many try to do today. We are not independent islands to ourselves. Such an idea is the product of the self-focused, humanistic society in which we live.……Apart from the marital interdependence, we also find the same concept throughout the Church in regard to the spiritual gifts: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). Both Romans 12 and 1Corinthians 12 expand this teaching in the explanation of spiritual gifts. Ephesians 4:11-16exhorts us to work with, depend on, and serve one another as the Lord has enabled us. By doing this, “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” In addition, Hebrews 10:24-25 commands us to operate in this manner: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds├ö├ç┬¬let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”……These passages show us that all Christians are dependent on other Christians. It is only in the secular, humanistic world where this type of interdependency is frowned upon. Christian interdependence is vital to the life of the Church and its individual members. We are to love one another, not think more highly of ourselves than we should, not act according to selfish ambition of conceit, but rather operate according to the faith which is a gift of God. We are to recognize and depend upon one another's gifts, looking out for the interests of others (John 13:34-35Romans 12:3-6Philippians 2:3-4). This is true biblical interdependency as opposed to selfish and destructive codependency.