Made for Community
Loneliness is among the most pressing issues in our society today. It sounds wild to use this term, but it is truly an epidemic in America and the rest of the Western (philosophical) world. It is what loneliness produces that begs the term ‘epidemic’. It increases the likelihood of drug and alcohol abuse and premature death (to name a couple). Bad news.
The reason loneliness is an issue that so deeply affects us is actually quite simple: we were made for community. In jest I often refer to humans as pack animals. Humanity (read: each and every human being alike) was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Our triune God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – ever exist in community, so it stands to reason that we should too. We are born into families, which are one level of community, but it expands from there based on locale (i.e.: tribe, neighborhood, town).
The solution, the cure if I may, to the issue is in our created wiring. The cure to loneliness is community: a network of relationships. Let me add a layer to that. We need to commitourselves to a network of relationships. Our current milieu pushes a narrative of self-service that runs fairly perpendicular to this innate need of our souls, so commitment is necessary.
What might this look like? There are many ways to go about this, but there are a few relationships that I believe are vital. This is not a be-all-end-all, but I do believe it is a good place to start:
1) Obviously, you need people you can trust, but do you have a group of people you genuinely want to be around regularly? That’s a start.
2) Next, get some people who “call you up”. What I mean by this is find some people who make you aspire to a greater degree of Christlikeness, or societal speak “make you better”.
3) I also believe it is necessary for you to have some people in your life who can “shut you down”. These people get to lovingly tell you NO and correct your actions and attitudes even before you’ve realized they are wrong. You will learn to love them for it.
4) Another key is to find a group of people that you serve. A commitment to serving others will keep you humble, assuming you hold their creation in the image of God at the front of your mind.
Community is an anchor in our changing seasons and provides meaning to mundanity. It is where our best is celebrated and our worst is gracefully transformed. We were made for community. It is not easy, at all, but it is necessary.