| I had a dream a few weeks ago. There was a huge mob of people racing past me. Everyone was running down the road, and the street was packed right to the buildings on each side. Then I saw one of our daughters. And then another. When they saw me standing on the side, out of the way, they came over. “Why is everyone running down the road?” “We don’t know! But we’re getting away! There must be a reason because everyone is running away!” “Yes, I see they are running, but what are they running away from?” When the mob thinned down, we could see nothing was chasing them. Social Anxiety is a Thing Social anxiety has increased dramatically since 2020. Fears and speculations feel real to many. How often do people tell me, “This is what I’m seeing…” Then they relate their conclusions based on news stories or facts they gleaned from social media. Even when social media is from trusted friends, we never know the whole context and may quickly jump to the wrong conclusions. Social Anxiety can Produce Crazy Behavior. In Exodus 19 God invited the children of Israel to personally come to the mountain where Moses’ had the burning bush experience. The people were afraid and promised to follow Moses’ lead if he would hear from God for them. Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:18-20). When Moses went up the mountain to hear from God for the people, the people convinced Aaron to make them a golden calf, and then “Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry” (NIV, Ex. 32:6b). “After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry (NLT, Ex. 32:6b). “and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior (NASB, Ex. 32:6b). How did this happen? The whole group had just experienced incredible adventures with God. Aaron had just seen God. “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky” (Ex. 24:9-10). One can only vaguely imagine the stress of being slaves, racing away through the Red Sea, not knowing how to live as free people, and feeling lost in an unknown desert. Still, what a jump, from experiencing God to large-group, mass immorality. Have you ever heard of Groupthink? Our current social stress is not uncommon in human history. “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they indeed craved them. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.’ Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day” (NASB, 1 Cor. 10:6-8) The Antidote God’s plan is that His people will represent Him to the chaos world. God still wants a personal relationship with everyone. God wants to put His laws in our hearts and to walk and live among us. “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,16 ‘This is the covenant which I will make with them After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts, And write them on their mind,’He then says,17 ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer remember.’”(Heb. 10:15-17). Centering Prayer To guard ourselves against Social Anxiety and Groupthink we need to each develop a personal relationship with God. I used to care so much for my team and to excel in the task He gave me that I struggled with anxiety. Over time I am learning to cast my cares on Him. Life is much better now. 1. The first thing I do daily is to spend time with God. 2. I go to God first, before I look at my messages and all the distractingly choice tidbits that arrive on my phone during the night. I do not want extra distractions from my relationship with God. 3. My quiet time includes a Bible reading program, Bible study (Bibleproject Classroom), Centering Prayer, and praying through lists. I learn to quiet my mind and spend time with God. When thoughts come up, I acknowledge them and let them go. If I find myself obsessing about something, I grow wary. Is this an idol of sorts? I don’t understand idolatry, but it has something to do with me putting something ahead of my relationship with God. I explain to my mind that we have given the event over to God, and this is not the time to be working on it. This time is for enjoying God and His presence. 4. After building up my spirit I am equipped for the day. After first spending time in the realm where Jesus is King (the Kingdom of God) I am better equipped to deal with the chaotic realms. 5. I prioritize putting God first each day. If I have to travel at 4 a.m., which happens often enough, I get up at 2 a.m. I have been doing this for many years. I share it now as an encouragement because this is working for me. The Church If I am strong in my faith and secure in my relationship with God, I can appreciate my church people because they are the folks with whom I am going to heaven. Consider how flowers do not envy and strive against one another. They bloom together, each with its own fragrance, color, and size. The people of 1 Corinthians were passionate about the church, but Paul thought they were infants because they loved certain teachers. Does this sound like the Israelites in Exodus who preferred to hear God through Moses rather than for themselves? Paul thought they were such infants he had to give them milk, not solid food. In those days there was no store with 2% milk. Paul was comparing his teaching to mother’s milk because the Corinthians depended on hearing God through other people. Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?” (1 Cor. 3:1-4). Can you see how depending on people to teach us what God is saying is like babies feeding on breastmilk? Real food is compared to hearing personally from God. Does focusing on a personal relationship with God lessen the value of hearing from God through others? Not at all. Paul’s whole letter to Corinthians is to encourage them to meet together, to encourage one another, and to quit with the subgroups. He contended that in church prophecy was a better gift because in this way the church can encourage one another. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:1-3). When we come to church filled with God’s Spirit and love for people, God will give us encouraging words for one another. “Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church” (1 Cor. 14:12). The World God started with Adam and Eve. That culminated in the flood. Then God restarted with Noah and his family. That culminated in the Tower of Babel. Then God restarted with Abraham and Sarah. That evolved into Jesus and The Church. The fellowship in the church is the opposite of the Tower of Babel. Instead of languages that divide, we get tongues that build up our spirits and prophecies that help us encourage one another along our path to heaven. The Lord had said to Abram . . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Gen. 12:1-3). If we work on becoming the right individuals and groups, we grow in power to attract the world to Jesus. Final Thoughts I changed the way I intercede for people. I now pray to become the right person God can use to minister to my family, relatives, mission partners, church families, neighbors, and the world. I have the power to make choices for myself, which helps me feel proactive rather than like a victim of social unrest. With God’s help, we can each be part of His solution in a chaotic world. Your thoughts? Rick. |
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