I once heard a man say, “I am not my own and on my own I am not enough.” Another quote I’ve never forgotten came from a nurse in Calcutta: “Lonliness is the leprosy of our society, and no one wants anyone to know they’re a leper.”
We have found ourselves in an interesting age of individualism. The media that bombards us every waking moment suggests that we can do life on our own. Sinatra did it “his way” and Burger King tells us to have it “our own way”.
The result is an epidemic of lonliness. We are becoming shut in to our homes with every convenience at our fingertips. Tweeting about our latest mood or Facebooking for hours on end, we have started to buy in to the idea that our Blackberry or iPhone is connecting us.
A hundred years ago you couldn’t do life on your own. No one was telecommuting, and pizza wasn’t delivered to your front door. Communities survived on…community. Texting your latest mood wasn’t an option. Have you really stopped lately to consider what a poor replacement texting is for face-to-face, real conversation? When did we become comfortable with watered down acronyms like OMG and ROTFL? Really, when was the last time you literally fell to the floor laughing? My guess is that you weren’t alone when it happened.
Consider the Jewish day in Jesus’ time, which began at 6:00 pm. The very beginning of their day consisted of a meal, and community. Connectedness around a table of food. This was followed by rest, or, sabbayat, and finally work. The priority here was a shared life with others.
The Church I attend is large. By large I mean 11,000 people worshipping on the weekend. This makes the Church a target for skeptics and conspiracy theorists. “That place is too big,” and “You couldn’t really get to know anyone,” are common remarks.
Aside from Jon Weece’s quip (the Minister), “if you don’t like large Churches, you’re gonna hate heaven”, which is hilarious, I want to challenge the notion that a large Church is a cold Church. No one ever seems to say the same thing about our Nation’s greatest Universities. You never hear “Yale is a great school but it’s just too large,” or “I’d go to Boston University but man, 32,00 students is just way too many!”. We don’t expect to get to know every student in our college experience, but don’t you find a core group you eventually call family?
Does someone turn down a good job at Toyota or Google saying, “that company is too big – I’ll never get to know everyone!”.
Out of the crowd you eventually find a group you get to know, and in that group burdens and joys are owned by everyone.
I read an article about rampant lonliness in the United States recently that made my heart heavy. I don’t know of any other affliction in the human condition that could be worse, and also so easily curable.
If you have community, consider yourself blessed. Are you looking for the lonely and reaching out?
If you don’t have community in your life, will you take a step out of the darkness?
Romans 12:13 says:
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (NIV)
Instead of leaving you with just thoughts and ideas, I want to leave you with an opportunity to reach out and do something. Whether you have community or you are seeking community, use the form below and I will connect with you. If you live even remotely close to Central Kentucky, I would love to meet you and hear your story. We can grab a cup of coffee at that mega Church.
Let’s do life together.
You can also find me on Skype, Facebook, Twitter, or by email. I know this sounds ironic, but I try to use these tools as a way to connect us, not sustain us.
