Did you realize that the first book of the Bible talks about codependency? I don't if you realize it or not by now but the Bible has a lot to say regarding human behavior and psychology.
For instance on the issue of codependency, God told Adam and Eve that the results of their decision to move toward a self-reliant life-style would be devastating.
God intended for Adam and Eve, to choose His Spirit (tree of life) as the source of life and wisdom, rather than their own experience of good and evil.
Fear, separation, mistrust, blame and a myriad of other emotions and attitudes were now a part of Adam and Eve's world.
They scurried to cover themselves, to hide from the presence of God.
Previous to the Fall both Adam and Eve found their completeness in God alone.
He was the source of all that was good! After the Fall, both Adam and Eve were affected.
To the woman, God said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for [to] your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Gen.
3:16).
In this passage we find the root of all dysfunctional behavior in women toward men, and where their heart is the most vulnerable to deception.
Today we have a new word for it.
We call it co dependence.
" God identified it at the beginning of time and called it the "desire" of the woman.
Another way of looking at what God was saying would be, "The desire of your heart is turning away from Me to your husband and he will rule over you.
" God was telling Eve that man would rule her as a consequence of her turning away from God to him.
It was her choice.
Had Eve's desire remained upon God, He would have ruled her, which is a privilege God wants to retain for Himself for all His children.
What a colossal disappointment when this self-centered dream is not realized, when the woman's husband is not able to "fill up the grand canyon" inside of her.
Ultimately, hurt and disillusionment will set in, followed by anger and then bitterness.
A great chasm will develop between them.
If one of the partners does not begin to understand God's plan and viewpoint for marriage, they will both become locked into a death spiral in their relating pattern.
This empty marriage, devoid of intimacy, may not result in a legal divorce but the emotional divorce may be just as devastating and destructive to the family.
It will take divine surgery to rectify it.
When Satan moved to derail the man and woman, he struck directly at the center of their identity - their maleness and femaleness.
It's noteworthy that before Adam and Eve hid themselves from each other they covered the parts of themselves that identified them as male and female.
They became driven by their own wills.
Who they were and how they were designed to function now became confused, twisted, deceptive, hidden and self-serving.
What is the answer in all of this? First, we must face the fact that our self-worth comes from the value placed on us by a loving God through Jesus Christ and what He provided for us.
Secondly, we must understand that the results of our co-dependent ways are a end result of not finding our fulfillment through God's answer to humanity.
When we return to the true source, we can then love and be loved effectively in our marriage and break out of our codependent ways.