How is your social capital?
uh, questions.
That’s the term academics use for friends. Or how connected you are with other people. The sad fact of the matter is that most of us have very few people we can count on to lend a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on when we need them.
You were not made to do it alone.
God created us to relate to others.
Have you ever noticed that four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with God, while the remaining six deal with our relationship with each other? All 10 are about relationships.
The most important relationship is a personal relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ. But we are also supposed to be connected with others.
“Bowling Alone” is the title of a popular book from a few years ago that talked about how we in the United States have become a nation of loners.
This is not OK. Doctors tell us that loneliness is a huge health problem. A Boston Globe story on the subject recently reported that people who are socially isolated in this way, but otherwise healthy, are twice as likely to die as those with friends. A similar study funds that isolated men are up to 25% more likely to die from all causes at any age compared to non-isolated men. The odds for women are 33%.
George Callup’s organization says Americans are among the loneliest people in the world, with more than a third saying they felt isolated and alone.
But George Gallup tells us something else, something he discovered personally that he says is “deeply good news.” Let me quote him:
“I want to tell you now about a trend that may be contributing to a transformation in America. You won’t read about this trend in our newspapers or on television, yet it is a powerful undercurrent in our society that I think gives us reason to encouragement about the future! This trend could be described as a sociological and spiritual phenomenon: Americans on a massive scale are rediscovering one another, meeting regularly in small support groups, many with a spiritual dimension.”
The news Gallup discovered is so profound that he has now basically retired from the day-to-day leadership of his polling company and has devoted the rest of his life to developing and fostering small groups. George Gallup, in case you didn’t know, is a devout Christian.
Small groups are all about relationships. And that is something that Jesus teaches in the Bible that we must develop and nurture.
Jesus said that our love for each other should be our witness to the world.
There is nothing intimidating about a small Christian group. They are a lot like families. Think of them as a group of friends who meet regularly to support and encourage one another and to grow in their knowledge of the Lord through Bible study, prayer, and application.
For most, the app means reaching out and helping others, beyond their immediate circle of friends. Many groups have regular extension projects throughout the year. There is no shortage of necessities. Working at a food pantry, babysitting for single mothers, mentoring school-age children, and visiting the sick in hospitals are just a few ideas.
Interpersonal relationships bring balance to life. And the best relationships of this kind are when we connect with others in a basic Christian community.
That’s the small group.
If I were to count them all, the New Testament has over 50 references to how Christians are to be connected in friendship and fellowship. Bible scholars call them the “one another” passages. For example, we are commanded to “love one another,” “pray for one another,” and “build each other up.”
It is clear from the Bible that God wants us to have close and regular fellowship with one another. But such relationships are often the first to be sacrificed for our busy schedules.
This makes no sense. Because relationships, not wealth or prestige or the accumulation of material things, are what matter most in life.
Now listen. That is just wrong. That is sinful. And I say this with the authority of the Bible.
In Matthew 22:36-40. “Jesus said: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hold fast to these two commandments.’ “
That is called the Great Commandment.
In Matthew 28:19-20. “Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ “
That is called the Great Commission.
Both commandments emphasize relationships.
Here’s the bottom line: You can’t be the mature believer God wants unless you get involved with people. you will stagnate It is unbiblical not to be connected with others. Pastor Rick Warren in Big Purpose Driven Life Book put it this way: “If you’re too busy to be connected, you’re too busy.”
Clearly, we must make friends a priority if we are to be obedient to God.
it’s a matter of friendship. We all need to have friends and we all need to be friends with each other. It is a biblical imperative.
Are you connected in a small group? If not, join one. Just contact your church office to find out how. And if you don’t have a small group ministry, why not volunteer to start one?
