Thought for Today
Joshua 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Proverbs 18:24 Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin.
Luke 15:6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'
John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Our society is a complex structure supported by a network of interwoven and loosely connected set of social support systems. Some are in part governmental or politically oriented, public schools, political parties, etc. Others are not and are independent, Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Masons, and, of course, the church. There are numerous organizations knitting together and undergirding the society in which we live, providing aid and support to many aspects of our world and our daily lives.
I believe these form the center of our society; and, as long as the center holds, the society will be strong and stable. Last night I attended my Masonic lodge’s monthly communication (meeting). Two days from now, I will attend worship at our church. One commonality of these two and of many of all those social support systems is the declining numbers of those attending. Coupled with those declining numbers is the advancing age of those who remain.
Is our society undergoing a paradigm shift in our support system? If so, what will replace the center? If the current center does not hold, will the entire system collapse? I’m sure that someone somewhere has or soon will be pondering this issue. Maybe there have already been doctoral theses written on the problem, hopefully suggesting solutions. I have read a few newspaper articles on the question. I have yet to encounter any remedies or solutions offered which I believe sufficient.
It has become almost a trope in comedy routines about social media to poke fun at how many friends we have and the fact that the beauty of all of those is that we never have to meet any of them in person. Beyond sharing these Thoughts on Facebook and occasionally messaging a few friends, I make little use of social media. My Facebook friends are all people with whom I share intimate ties, ties of being neighbors, of being part of a community of faith, maybe even ties of kinship. I do occasionally receive ‘friend requests’ from people I have never met in person and with whom I share no commonality beyond Facebook. I decline them.
Greta and I have close friends, people with whom we have worshipped together and whom we see socially who are active in the Lions Club. They relate to us all that the Lions do to support vision-related systems and issues. My Masonic lodge is active in the Hospital Equipment Loan Program (HELP) providing people with health/hospital equipment like walkers, wheelchairs and hospital beds lending equipment to those in need at no cost. Other groups provide equally needed aid and support to individuals and communities, all working together to undergird our society. All doing so with volunteer labor and financial contributions without any governmental aid. All integral and necessary as the support structure, as the center. Friends working together to help friends.
Can the center hold? Will the support continue in a ‘social media world?’ Without friends who actually know each other, personally and in person, will the structure hold or will it collapse? I do not know; I worry?
I do know that the Church, Christendom, held western European society together from the fall of the Roman Empire until relatively modern times. Sometimes things required adjustments. The Reformation and the Enlightenment are examples. But the primary support structure for society was the Church, Christendom. Regrettably, especially since the 1970s, our numbers have declined and our average age has increased.
I am firmly convinced that Christianity and Christendom will survive, will grow and spread until God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. I wonder what the Church, Christianity and Christendom will look like for future generations? I know that in God’s time, according to God’s plan, God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the meantime, “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Stay safe, believe the good news, trust God,
Pastor Ray