Developing Foundations for Healthy Relationshipsنموونە

The relationship between God, Adam, and Eve (Part 2)

In yesterday’s study, we looked at this Biblical/relational foundation: we are not made to be alone. In fact, we are designed to be in a relationship with God and in a relationship with others.

However, although this is true, we are living in a very lonely - and increasingly unhappy - world. The evidence is all around us.

For the first time ever, in 2018, the British Prime Minister at the time, Theresa May, appointed a minister for loneliness. This was in response to a study that reported nine million people in her nation “often or always felt alone.” The report also showed that 200,000 elderly people in the country had not had a conversation with a friend or relative in over a month—a month! Can you imagine?

Similarly, Vivek Murthy (the former surgeon-general of the U.S.A.) named loneliness as an epidemic, linking its health impacts to that of smoking 15 cigarettes per day.

One reason behind this loneliness is the shrinking size of our social circles, which have rapidly declined in recent decades. In Japan, for example, more than half a million people stay in their homes for six months at a time, making no contact with the outside world.

This kind of epidemic-level loneliness has been and continues to be linked to a number of different health problems, including strokes, cancer, heart problems, eating disorders, substance abuse, sleep deprivation, depression, and anxiety.

Through media, advertising, technology, mass consumerism, and the intense individualization of our world, it seems that we are being pushed away from each other and away from the true and real life that is found in Jesus.

It seems that we have become so concerned about ourselves as individuals that we are no longer a part of the whole. We are disconnected from others, disconnected from God, and not living in line with our design.

Following on from yesterday's Bible readings is today’s: Genesis Chapter 3, the well known fall of humanity. The story is famous: tempted by the serpent, Eve eats from the forbidden fruit, gives some to Adam, and then the pair hide from God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8). God confronts them, they are cursed in various ways and then banished from Eden. They go on to have children, and we are told that Adam lived to 930 (Genesis 5:5).

Before this fall from grace, however, we do have this beautiful picture of our design: that we were made and are made to be in relationships with God and with one another.

In today’s world it is so easy for us to isolate, and make ourselves an island. But what we read from the beginning chapters of the Bible is a story of interdependence, not independence. We read the story of a Creator God, and created beings. Created beings who, by design, were made to be together. It is also a story of togetherness and unity.

Spend some time thinking through or journaling the answers to the following questions, taking the most time for the final two questions:

Why do you think loneliness is becoming such a problem in our world?

Do you tend to isolate or lean toward self-sufficiency? In what ways are you a product of our current isolation/ independence culture?

What practice can you implement that ensures you stay in a relationship with others?

Below are a few ideas of practices that you can implement into your own life, however, we encourage you to spend some time in prayer and hearing from the Lord:

• Join a small group or Bible Study (or Life Group, or Connect Group, or whatever your church community calls their regular meeting small groups).
• Join a sports team or social group.
• Create a monthly (or weekly, just regular) prayer event with friends or family.
• Make it a priority to attend church weekly.
• Limit your time on social media and/or watching television.
• Make it a priority to celebrate people’s milestones: birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, etc.

What practice (or practices) can you implement that ensures you stay in a relationship with God?

Blackpool, Gjovik & Tokyo (2019, September 1st). All the lonely people: Loneliness is a serious public-health problem. The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/international/2018/09/01/loneliness-is-a-serious-public-health-problem

Yeginsu, C. (2018, January 17). U.K. Appoints a Minister for Loneliness. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/world/europe/uk-britain-loneliness.html

Fikkert, B., & Kapic, K. (2019, March 5) Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn't the American Dream. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers(p.82)