Ours is a deeply materialistic age. In this context, we tend to regard everything and everyone in instrumental terms. Leaking pipes need plumbers; broken cars need mechanics; broken humans need doctors, therapists, and fitness coaches. While we’re not disparaging any of these professions, we will make the case that human beings are more than the sum of their parts. Our thoughts were stirred by Jake Meador’s helpful essay that appeared in Mere Orthodoxy.