We live in an increasingly individualistic world. People seem to be increasingly focusing on me, myself, and I. They ask, “What’s in it for me?”
The Bible prophesies that at the end of the age, people will become lovers of their own selves (2 Timothy 3:2).
Before Jesus returns, people will become selfish, caring more about themselves than about anyone else.
Our Language Reflects Individualism
Language reflects this shift toward stark individualism. For example, the word “selfie,” which refers to taking a photograph of oneself, was unknown prior to 2000; but now almost everyone uses the word selfie. Other words became popular in the 1980s as people began to focus more on themselves. Terms like “self-care” and “self-esteem” were popularized around this time. “Me-time” is a new term which refers to time we just spend by ourselves. These new words reflect the shift toward individualism.
Before Jesus returns, selfishness will abound. People will tend to themselves, care about themselves, love themselves, and live for themselves. The love of self is rising in our culture, and it affects how almost everyone thinks about life.
Most people now believe that the ultimate goal in life is individual happiness. To them, relationships, including marriage, are increasingly viewed as temporary arrangements that are meant to serve personal growth. If a relationship ceases to provide happiness or personal development, ending it is socially accepted (and even encouraged) as a form of “self-care.”
Individualistic Trends in Society
Many trends in society reflect the movement toward individualism.
A record number of people are skipping marriage entirely or delaying marriage until they can accomplish their individual goals first.
People are having fewer children, and some are having no children at all, often because they think that children would interfere with their own independent lifestyles.
More and more people are living alone. In 1900, only 5% of households contained one person; now 30-40% of households contain only one person.
People today are cutting off relationships instead of working through issues. Spouses cut each other off, often without trying to work through things and without warning. In 1900, only 7% of first marriages ended in divorce, but by the 1980s, it was about 50%.
It’s not just spouses who are separating. Children are increasingly cutting off parents, and parents are cutting off children. Siblings are cutting off siblings. People are encouraged to end “toxic” relationships rather than work through problems in a healthy way.
(Of course, there are times when harmful relationships should end. Although God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), he permits divorce in cases of adultery (Matthew 19:9). In cases of physical violence, separation is required. There are times when bad relationships should end, and healthy boundaries are essential. However, we live in a time when there is generally too much ending of relationships and not enough working through challenges to heal relationships.)
With the increasing focus on self, many people have not developed the basic skills of how to relate to other humans. They do not know how to work through problems in relationships. Many people prefer superficial relationships through screens with strangers rather than actual relationships with flesh-and-blood people. Healthy relationships are hard work, and many people today don’t want to put in the effort. They turn to AI bots to have conversations. Soon, people will have relationships with robots.
In addition, people don’t take care of each other like they used to. In the 1920s, there were virtually no old-age homes. But now there are old-age homes everywhere.
Around 1900, there were basically no day care centers for children. Now there are hundreds of thousands of day care centers.
The growth of these institutions reflects that people are no longer taking care of vulnerable people, but instead are depending on institutions. This cultural shift has permeated most people’s thinking, so they consider the explosive growth of old-age homes and day care centers to be positive for society. But is this really positive? Is this the best we can do for our elderly, or for our children?
Biblical Warnings Against Individualism
The Bible says we are not to seek our own things, but we are to seek the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:24).
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3-4).
Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25)
The Bible repeatedly condemns stark individualism. In the book of Judges, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. People back then were only concerned about their own lives, and they didn’t know how to work together to accomplish anything. Therefore, they were destroyed by their enemies.
Jesus told a parable of a man who only cared about himself. He said, “I have become wealthy. I will get more and more so I can be happy to live my own life” (Luke 12:16-21). This selfish man suddenly died.
Cain was a selfish man who killed his brother. He was too self-centered to maintain a healthy relationship. He asked God sarcastically, “Am I my brother’s keeper? Do I have an obligation to him? He can take care of himself, and I will take care of myself.” Cain just cared about himself; he didn’t care about others.
“A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire” (Proverbs 18:1). This verse reveals the connection between individualism and selfishness. The more selfish a person is, the more individualistic he will become.
It Was Not Good for Adam to Be Alone
God said it is not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Adam was living in a perfect garden, and God said that everything in the creation was very good. However, God said that Adam was alone, and that was not good. Individualism was not good, even in God’s perfect world.
Adam was surrounded by beautiful plants and gorgeous scenery, but these plants and beautiful views did not make Adam less alone.
Pets didn’t help. Adam was friends with perfect animals, and he had pets of lions, tigers, and bears. He had perfect dogs and cats as pets. But God said that Adam was still alone. Sometimes people try to fill their loneliness with pets, and they become dog moms or dads. They may try to have a little family with their poodles. But this does not solve the problem, and people are still alone. Adam had all the perfect animals that have ever existed, and he gave them all names. But with all the perfect pets in the world, Adam was still alone.
Adam had a perfect relationship with God. He walked with God and talked with God. But God still said that Adam was alone. God has created us to be in community with other people. Even if we have an awesome relationship with God (like Adam did before the Fall), we still need other people.
(It’s worth mentioning that it is important for us to pursue the right relationships with the right people, not the wrong relationships with the wrong people. Let’s pursue relationships with strong Christians who can build us up, rather than with destructive people who will tear us down.)
What about prophets like John the Baptist or Elijah? The prophets were sometimes alone. But they were called to fight for the community, not just to tend to their own spirituality. They had to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the community. They could not just live in the wilderness and enjoy the rest of their lives alone in God’s presence, but they had to go and speak God’s word to others, because the health of God’s community is more important than the comfort of the individual.
Jesus Came to Build Community
God has created us and ordained us to be in healthy communities of people. This need can best be fulfilled within a Biblical church. We need each other.
Jesus gave us the example. He came to earth to find a bride, a wife. Just like Adam needed a wife, so did Christ (Eph. 5:32). The bride of Christ is a glorious community of the redeemed who submit utterly to God. Jesus left his glory in heaven so he could become one with his people. He wants to be in community with us, and he wants us to be in real community with each other.
Jesus said he lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). He told us that we have to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16). Like Jesus, we must be willing to sacrifice our individualism for the sake of God’s community.
Jesus chose 12 people to begin a radical community on the earth. Jesus and his disciples lived together. They ate together. They worked together. They shared their stuff. Jesus was showing us the importance of community. If anyone could be self-sufficient, it was Jesus, for he is God. But he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of building a community.
The Church is an Essential Community for God’s People
The church that God has ordained in the New Testament was a real community of people. They met daily to eat together, they shared their resources, and they often lived together (Acts 2:42-46). Most churches that we see today are not healthy communities because they have deviated from the apostolic model of church. They meet in dark auditoriums, watch a presentation on a stage, and most attendees don’t say anything meaningful to anyone. This is not a Biblical model of church. This modern church format is more a reflection of today’s individualistic culture than of the New Testament.
The Trinity Teaches Us About Community
We must learn about community from God. Within God, there is a beautiful community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When God refers to himself in the Old Testament, he uses the plural word, “Elohim.” When God decided to create the world, he used the plural pronoun “us.” God said, “Let us make man in our own image” (Genesis 1:26).
There is one God comprised of three persons. This is a divine community.
There is love in God. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father. Love is essential in community.
There is order in God. The Father is the head of Christ, and the Son obeys whatever the Father says. Order is essential in community.
The Trinity is the model community for us today, with perfect love, order, discussion, agreement, unity, and working together to accomplish a glorious goal.
Church is to reflect this glorious community of the Godhead by being a divine community upon the earth. Jesus prayed that we would all be one as he is one with his Father (John 17:21). When the church is one, it will be able to fulfill its purpose of reflecting God to the world and manifesting his kingdom. We must be willing to sacrifice our individualism for the sake of building this powerful community on the earth so we can fulfill God’s plans.
Our growth as Christians is not just about “how can I grow as an individual?” It’s about “how can I help God’s community grow?”
by Peter
