How is it possible that in creating the most socially connected generation we've also managed to create the most isolated one?
On the surface, society seems more linked than ever before. Every day we're busy interacting with people all over the world through one click of a button. Through social media - and even quick, in-person chats at the office water fountain or on the way to class - we encounter many people everyday thanks to our rapidly shrinking, increasingly connected world. But at a deeper level there's a disconnect.
Behind the casual conversations and daily social interactions, there's a generation trying desperately to navigate conflicting worldviews, endless choices, and a divided society.
We so willingly offer glances into our lives, sharing parts of our stories with our huge social webs. But we hide the not as pretty parts further and deeper than ever before.
The problem with hiding skeletons in the closet is that they refuse to stay there. They poke their icy fingers through the doors and hover in the corners of our vision, threatening to grab at our throats. They trap us in loneliness and isolation that lingers in the background of our outwardly happy lives.
When will we learn that the only way to be free of our skeletons is by letting them into the light instead of locking them away? Stronger than the fear of someone discovering our skeletons is the fear of never being truly known. After all, nothing is more powerful than being completely known - and to be loved despite.
How can we, as the church, more effectively create environments conducive to unlocking closet doors? How can we create safe atmospheres to talk and encourage one another as we navigate a society plagued by addiction, mental illness, and broken families? How can we, as a community, find freedom through confession and repentance - while locking judgement out of the room and letting grace in?
For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory. Let's acknowledge that each of us are sinners. Let's not hide our skeletons - but let's also avoid displaying them with pride or boasting of struggles we've overcome. Let's instead let them dissolve into thin air when they touch the light - leaving behind empty closets which we can display as proof of the saving power of the Lord.
