Do you nod and/or smile at people when you are out and about? I try but it is a lot harder nowadays. Have you all noticed how hard it is to make eye contact, open a door to a stranger, or just get a response with a “good” or “hi.” There was a custom signaling deep honor, and acknowledgement in everyday courtesies. Seems to be lost as we have removed ourselves from politeness, welcoming gestures, and even in our introduction of others.
When you are out just take a look around and watch the body language of those around you.
Closed off: eye contact avoidance, rigid posture, crossed arms, fidgeting, face devoid of emotion, mouth firmly shut, and/or lack of any response when engaged.
Oblivious: blank staring, fixed on an electronic device, no attention to other’s personal space, invades proximity of others, lack of all social awareness, almost looks right through you, and sweeps and swerves in front of or around you with no communication strategies.
I just hate the world: facial scowl, avoids engaging in their surroundings, intense staring like a challenge or to deter the people around them, tense body language like stiff arms, aggressive walking or standing, clenched jaw, tight shoulders, and just seems restless and/or impatient.
I am sure there are others you can think of, but these are the three I seem to run into more often today. I can’t seem to dismiss what we have taught people to act. I feel like we are experiencing unprecedented social awkwardness and anxiety, driven by prolonged digital isolation, remote learning, and a decrease in natural, unscripted face-to-face socialization. Adults today have stunted social awareness because of the overly-sheltered upbringing. They didn’t get the chance to practice their social skills with other kids.
So, the medical field has just labeled it a “social anxiety disorder” where people just avoid public situations or social interactions. This just means these are unlearned skills, not some disorder a pill can fix. Labeling everything with some kind of disorder waters down the heart of the issue we are seeing today.
Sometimes as an older generation I get angry at this unappreciative generation who is swayed by every ideology that blows in the wind. But, I have to remind myself that we were taught how to behave, how to be polite, to just be nice to each other, but stand up for yourself when necessary. We know what it means to sacrifice, put in the hard work, that character counts, and that at the end of our lives we want to look back to see our life mattered. That legacy we hope lives on through generations.
I ran across a couple examples I thought could be pointed out because what a testimony from two different vantage points.
There is a hinge-pin in the Bible between the behaviors of two men. One preaching the gospel and the other seeking to kill the early Christians.
In Acts Chapter 7, Stephen addresses the self-righteous angry mob and after he was done confronting the rebellious hearts of the crowd they turned on him to to stone him to death, but as they ascended to silence him he spoke these words:
“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:55-56)
It is the only time Jesus is referred to standing at the right hand of God. He is usually seated at the right hand of God. A representation of His supreme authority, power, and his earthly mission. But with Stephen He stood which shows the honor and favor Jesus showed to welcome in his first martyred follower into heaven. The body language and facial expression of Jesus must have been so immensely comforting. It is this generation that has lost to whom we should believe. To behave in a way that honors God. To know the great Creator and the One who welcomes you home at the end of life.
As Stephen enters heaven, there stood a man named Saul. In this moment Saul was recorded as "breathing out murderous threats in his zeal for Judaism" (Acts 9:1). He had consented to the execution of Stephen, and attempted to eradicate the church. But his violent campaign came to an abrupt stop when he encountered the same Jesus who stood for Stephen. Blindness got Saul’s attention then Jesus spoke directly that changed his heart, mind, and soul forever. Everything changed about him including his name from Saul to the Apostle Paul. Today, transformation is still attainable by anyone seeking the truth. Who has a personal encounter with Jesus who died on the cross for us and who was raised from the dead. There is much hope in the change in each person's life.
A little bit of history here. Even back when the founding fathers were sacrificing their lives, fortunes and sacred honor; the frustration of being an influence into the next generation existed.
An April 1777 letter written by John Adams to his wife, Abigail Adams. In it, he expressed his desire for future generations to realize the high cost paid for liberty.
John Adams was in Europe serving as a diplomat. Frustrated that people at home did not fully grasp the sacrifices being made to build a new nation, John Adams wrote a passionate letter to Abigail. He expressed a wish that he could gather all the youth and college students around to tell them something very specific.
He wrote: “Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that I ever took half the pains I did to earn it. “
At the time he wrote this in 1777, the Revolutionary War was in its early, grueling phases. He was suffering from an illness and feeling the heavy emotional and physical toll that the war effort had taken on himself and his contemporaries. He was essentially expressing a profound sense of duty and the heavy emotional weight of securing independence, warning that future generations must respect and protect the freedoms they were being handed.
Prayers for all generations as nothing is new under the sun. We see so much pain, suffering, and anxious hearts yearning to be loved and accepted. But to balance that with firm truth. Prayers for all the uncertainties we see around us that can be so consuming. May we be aware of that which will destroy our country. May we ask for mercy and hold on to our faith through these very apparent last days.
God Bless,
dreamsdontfade.com
Hope for the hopeless is what I think about when I listen to this song by MercyMe, “Bright Side of being Broken.”
Even in the darkest times
There's always hope
What we see as a broken mess
Jesus sees a chance to be made whole
Life's not over yet
So take a breath
'Cause it gets better, oh
'Cause the bright side of being broken
Is a heart that's busted open
With every break, the light will chase
The darkness away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r9IzYiKeSg&list=RD3r9IzYiKeSg&start_radio=1