Have we Drifted away from Community?

Do-it-yourself is popular these days. In some ways it’s been popular for quite some time, but it’s now so common as to be known as DIY. There are DIY channels on YouTube, DIY websites, and businesses given over to do-it-yourself in areas of crafting, home improvement and renovations, and so on and so forth.

There are many reasons why people feel compelled to do it themselves, but we also experience this in the realm of spirituality. We are tempted at times to leave off gathering in community for what seems to be an easier path, a path that seems to be preferable, just me and Jesus.

First, there is our innate individualism. We think that we are smart, or certainly smarter than most people that we know. So there is the ever-present sinfulness of our individualistic bent.

Second, there is at this present time the reality of the pandemic where, at least at the very start of it, the new routine was to roll out of bed on a Sunday morning and watch church online in our pajamas. It became easier simply to think that we can get all we need from church without having to be the church.

Third, for some there is church hurt. Some of our deepest wounds have come at the hands of fellow Christians. This can lead us to withdraw, perhaps not physically but at least relationally and emotionally, to the point that we may be physically present but we’re not “all in”. We have slowly and subtly removed ourselves relationally and emotionally from community, and we now believe it is a preferred way for us to relate to God.

God shows His concern regarding DIY spirituality in Leviticus 17:1-9, as He begins to move from the indicatives, the truth statements, of His grace and the reality of His atonement to the many imperatives or commands in the rest of the book.

His concern is that His nation not attempt to live life in His presence individualistically. We were not made to go it alone. We were designed by our benevolent Creator in His image for community, and despite the myriad reasons why we would back away from community, God continues to push us towards it. He does this because it is what is best for us. It is what causes us to thrive. We need each other, even and especially in our worship of God.

The rest of this article can be read HERE.