Getting Back to Basics

This time every year, Christians worldwide look forward to the holiday season and its wealth of moments and events to celebrate with family, friends, and even strangers.

First, we celebrate God’s providence on Thanksgiving, as we acknowledge the blessings He has given to our nation as well as to us and our families. Then, we celebrate the advent and birth of God incarnate throughout the Christmas season. Finally, we will turn the page on New Year’s and celebrate the culmination of so many blessings throughout 2024, while looking forward to a new year of victories and lessons to be learned in the days to come.

For Christians in America, this year has brought a unique set of trying circumstances, but we are ending it with optimism that a new administration and Congress will act as a unified check on the destructive excesses of cultural Marxism and out-of-control leftism on our nation.

This ideology has already done a lot of damage, not the least of which is that many in our society have embraced a more hollowed out, lonely, and destructive version of American individualism. This includes the trend among young people — driven by identity politics and anti-Christian sentiment— to pursue an “estrangement” or no-contact policy with their families as they move into adulthood.

This is an incredibly dangerous delusion that not only erodes the most critical institution in society, the family, but also those individuals who buy into it.

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than 20 percent of Americans currently feel isolated from others or left out and that their lack of companionship with others has hurt their relationships and their mental health. The majority of those reporting loneliness were disproportionately younger and more likely to be single or divorced.

A recent article by the National Institutes of Health argues that the emotional pain caused by social isolation from family members and others can activate the same stress responses in the body as physical pain, leading to chronic inflammation, reduced immunity, and increased vulnerability to some infectious diseases. The NIH research also found that social isolation and loneliness may be bad for brain health, with possible links to reduced cognitive function and higher risk for degenerative conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The data is overwhelming: Isolating yourself from loved ones, especially family, has significant potential to damage your physical and mental health, as well as your overall quality of life and well-being.

So, as we enter into a very busy season, let us make a decision to engage with those God has put into our lives and to prioritize the simple things that we too often undervalue.

Young people, draw near to your parents, siblings, and extended family. Remember the things that you love and appreciate about them, be grateful for the love they offer, and focus on activities and happy memories you have in common.

Parents, keep the lines of communication open. Make your home during the holidays a welcoming and comfortable space for your children and other family members. Don’t irritate them with talk about past mistakes or worries about their future. Appreciate their good qualities and love them exactly where they’re at, praying for them without ceasing.

Without our family, close friendships, yearly traditions celebrated around the dinner table, and the ability to freely worship God and hold fast to our biblical beliefs that do not change with the times, who would we honestly be? Certainly not content.

In 1 Timothy 5:8, the Apostle Paul reminds us that if “Anyone does not provide for his own household and his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is even worse than an unbeliever.” And he reiterates a previous commandment in Ephesians 6:2-3: “Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

The established data and, more importantly, the Bible directly points us to slow down and enjoy each other and the simple things in life. These irreplaceable activities include time spent just being with our families, reading the Bible and enjoying a meal together, playing board games and going for walks, recounting the highs and lows of the year while celebrating holiday traditions, and going to church together to worship the Prince of Peace Himself, who came to earth and gave His life on our behalf so that we might have the same with God.

How ironic is it that the things the world labels as “extreme” — and which we too often take for granted — are actually the most important, without which we have no identity and sense of purpose in life?

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