Better Together
By Grant Gaines
Do you want to know one of the easiest ways to extend your lifespan? It’s not by taking an extra multi-vitamin, exercising more, or eating more fruits and vegetables. Rather, the way you can extend your life by several years is simply through being around other people.
Being around other people? It can’t be that easy. What’s the catch?
Actually there is no catch. Recent studies have shown that the average senior citizen’s lifespan is dramatically extended if they share the house with another living organism. It doesn’t matter if that organism is a person, a pet, or even a plant—the presence of another living being has been proven to extend one’s life.
But we didn’t need science to tell us this revelation—the Bible has preached that truth for thousands of years. In fact, the first time we are introduced to the human race we see hints of our relational nature. In Genesis 1:26 (NIV, bold mine) God said, “…Let Us create man in Our image, in Our likeness.”
You’ve probably heard that verse thousands of times if you grew up in the church. And while being made in God’s image certainly carries a lot of positive connotations, the most obvious one is that God the Father didn’t just make us in “His” image, but in “Our” image. We are made in the image of the Triune God who is in a continual relationship with Himself—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In the same way, we are to be in continual relationship with others—it is the way God made us, it is written in our DNA.
And this relational aspect of our being is not unique to only humans, take a moment to think of God’s vast creation and the relational undertones that are everywhere throughout the animal kingdom. Dogs are called man’s best friend because they stick closer to their owner than a brother. Wolves hunt in packs, lions hunt in prides, ducks fly together, fish swim in schools, sheep roam in flocks, cattle move in herds, and cats…well, maybe that’s the reason why we don’t like them! And here’s a fun fact for you: did you know that flying squirrels will die if they are isolated from other squirrels for an extended period of time?
In fact, zoologists (people who study animals) have recently discovered what they call “environmental enrichment”—which is a, “…way in which captive animals can be given more interesting lives by mimicking aspects of their wild relatives’ lifestyles. The most important element of enrichment is allowing the animals to live in similar social groups to those found in the wild, since social animals have evolved to flourish in the company of others of their own kind. They are not ‘designed’ to live happily alone[1]. ”
Even secular scientists acknowledge that animals were created to be in community! And as we’ve discussed earlier, community is not just for animals but also for us.
One of the main reasons why surrounding ourselves with a solid community of believers is because our adversary, Satan, wants nothing more than to isolate us. You see Satan, being a, “…roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV), hunts just like any lion would—he tries to divide and conquer his prey.
If you’ve ever watched lions hunt on TV, you’ll notice that they never attack a pack but instead try to isolate an individual animal and then move in for the kill. Satan wants to do the same to you—he wants to isolate you from other believers because he knows that there is power in numbers.
As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT) says—“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Together we can withstand anything the Enemy can throw at us; by ourselves, we are as helpless as a newborn baby.
Life is better together—it is the way God made us and it is the only way we can stand against our enemy. How are you going to build community in your life today?
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
[1] http://www.nfrs.org/company.html
