“He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people’s motives.” ( 1 Cor 4:5 GWT)
The 2020 pandemic and the resulting social distancing has been discouraging for many. One of the recurring themes I’ve heard about is a lack of motivation. For example, many of the runners I know have difficulty training, because all the in-person races have been cancelled. Most of my friends are not fast enough to win first place in a marathon. We are training to do our personal best on race day. We should be able to do this on our own, without a crowd of other runners, spectators, medals, or hoopla. But an organized race with other people feels more legitimate than running when no one else is around. Like boats with broken rudders, we feel unsure about how to direct our energy.
Runners are not the only ones who feel this lack of motivation. Many of our reasons for striving seem meaningless now. Why buy new clothes if no one is around to appreciate the newest fashion trends? Why be creative if no one is around to admire your work? Why work if there are no consumers? Why accumulate acquisitions, accolades, and accomplishments if there is no applause. Why do anything if everything goes unnoticed? This general sense of aimlessness points to an uncomfortable truth: social affirmation has been the rudder that gave us direction thus far. We assigned importance to that which brought approval (or avoided disapproval) from others. Certain traits and behaviors created a hierarchy of worth within communities. And now, during this pandemic, our meaning-making structures have come crumbling down.
(Continued in next post)...
