I read a stat recently that gave me pause.

What sociologists call ‘Gen Z’, currently age 6-24, are the most connected, yet loneliest generation in human history.

As I considered this, I began to see something more clearly.

Since the advent of the smartphone in 2007, we gain more and more virtual friends, yet grow more and more isolated.

As virtual reality is juxtaposed against actual reality a gaping hole is exposed where authentic, intimate relationships once thrived.

In the animal kingdom, predators that travel in packs succeed in hunting by isolating their prey away from the herd.

Let’s translate that into our spiritual health.  The German martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote,

“Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him.”

Stay connected to Christ through his Word. Stay connected to people (not just the online kind.)

There’s a reason the most cruel form of imprisonment is isolation.

The human condition will always need the human connection.

nw