On Monday's I like to share a piece of my manuscript from the message I'm planning on giving At the Awakening on Tuesday nights. This gives you the opportunity to give some feedback, share your thoughts and even make it into the manuscript! Let me know what you think?
Your Constant Community are those people in your life who truly know you and you know them. They are the ones who show up to the hospital, they bring you a meal when you're sick. They are the first people you call when complete a Marathon, or nail that job interview. They're the ones you call when you see Justin Bieber at the Air port - you know those real significant times in your life.
The US is one of the loneliest places in the world. In 2004 a study revealed that 1 in 4 Americans had no close friend or confidant. Only 15% of Americans shared that they had a healthy circle of friends. Even though the number of people who have access to us has increased through technology, the number of people we share the intimate details of our lives with has decreased.
Why do we lack Constant Community? How did we become such a lonely people?
One reason is that we lie to ourselves. Maybe you think you don't need it, You are lying to yourself. Maybe you've told yourself, "I don't have enough time." Or maybe it's, "there's is no one out there I can talk to," or "They wouldn't understand, they don't know what it's like to be me." Lies!!! All Lies I tell you! When we lie to ourselves like this we are refusing to take the needed risks to develop these relationships. We are cheating ourselves and even cheating others!
But there's an even deeper reason.
It's because of the Fall. In Gen 3. starting in verse 7, right after Adam and Eve disobey God, a series of events happen all depicting their separation from God and each other. First in Verse 7 they experience shame because of their nakedness and they make coverings from fig leaves. (If you didn't know, a fig leaf feels like sand paper - That has to be proof of mental degradation after the fall, right?) With their genius sandpaper undies they cover the parts where they were most different from each other. Then in verse 8, their Father and creator comes to walk with them in the garden as he always has, and they hide from him! In verse ten, for the first time, God's creation was afraid of him. Then like a real man, Adam in verse 12 puts the blame on Eve! What a jerk!
Today, all these separators are replayed in our lives, just as they were with Adam and Eve. Because of the Fall, and our connection to it, every day we replay these separators from God and each other. We hide in shame, we let differences build walls between us, we are afraid of sharing ourselves with the people who love us the most, and we shift the blame onto others instead of owning our sin. No wonder we have such a hard time developing and keeping our personal and intimate relationships!
No Response to "Manuscript Monday: Why all the Lonely People?"
Post a Comment