Individualism
Joshua 7: 2-12a
Imagine somebody courteously asking, “How is your family life?” or “How is your prayer life?” or “Is your thought life pure?” or “How wisely do you use your time?” or as John Wesley would ask Methodists in his day, “How goes it with your soul?” To most of us, this would be a blatant intrusion. We may think, “Who on earth do you think you are to question me? It’s personal, between me and God.” We have become captive to the idea that faith is a private matter. In effect, we have bought into society’s value of individualism. Individualism is leading life one’s own way with little to no regard or connection to others, but not necessarily to the harm of others. We live in a culture where the individual is king and there are few obligations to others.
Our society has become defined by a rampant commitment to ‘individualism’. What you believe, what you speak and how you live is personal. There is no sense of accountability, dependency and community. Folks believe “My life is my business and nobody has any right to get into my business.” What’s worse is that society’s value of individualism has seeped into our faith. Elyse Fitzpatrick tells of speaking at a conference that was well attended by women who were serious about their faith. But when she asked for a show of hands of those who were in a biblical relationship with others to whom they regularly confessed sin, expected accountability, and regularly confronted the sins of those same others, only a smattering of hands went up. And then she writes, “That’s not to say these dear sisters weren’t eager to follow the Lord. It was just that this kind of relationship, this depth of biblical fellowship, was way beyond their normal practice. This kind of fellowship…flies right in the face of our American individualism and desire for privacy. We don’t want anyone poking around in our affairs, and we certainly don’t want to be accused of poking about in anyone else’s. This idolatry of privacy and individualism is one of the greatest detriments to sanctification (or spiritual growing) in the church today. God has placed us in a family because we don’t grow very well on our own. It’s still not good to be alone. We need the encouragement, correction, and loving involvement of others….”
Individualism is nothing new. God said to the Israelites not many generations after they entered the Holy Land, "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man (and woman) did what was right in his own eyes.” In other words, rather than being the people of God and a community where one was for all and all were for one, they had become individuals doing what they wanted without any consideration of the whole. In our Scripture today, Joshua and the Israelites had easily defeated Jericho and then moved on to the city of Ai. But when they attacked, they were routed by the men of Ai, even though they outnumbered them. Joshua thought it was because he had sinned. But God said it was Israel. Now Achan, one of the Israelite soldiers, had gone against God’s command and kept some of the loot of Jericho for himself rather than destroying it as God commanded. As a result, Israel, not just Achan, had sinned and disobeyed God. The lesson is clear: if one sins, all sin. It’s not about the individual but about the communal. God knew that if the Hebrews were ever to become God’s chosen people to accomplish His will and become a light unto the nations, they were going to be One. Unity in faith, life and action were absolutely essential not only for the conquest of the Holy Land but their growth into a nation of God’s chosen and their relationship with God.
How did we as Americans get to this place of individualism in our society and culture? Four things. First is limited government intervention. For our Founding Fathers, the purpose of government was to protect life, liberty, and property but to otherwise to leave citizens alone. For first 150 years of our nation, the federal government remained relatively small and state and local governments provided only basic services, principally police protection and law courts, leaving us to rely on ourselves for most of what we need. Second is westward expansion. As pioneers settled the land to the West, they became a rugged, self-made group, who had to rely on themselves as many of them lived in isolation. Individualism was forged in the adversity of their life experience. Third is the “American dream.” Each generation of Americans hoped for a better quality of life than their parents. This led to a ‘pull yourself up by your boot straps’ mentality as each person had opportunity to attain a better life. It is all up to you. Fourth is the experience of millions of immigrants coming to these shores to escape the poverty and tyranny of their home countries and improve their own life and economic conditions. They worked tirelessly to achieve their goals, realizing that nothing in life is free and that whatever they attained would be by their own efforts. French Historian Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1830s wrote of the individualism of Americans when he said, " in most of the operations….each American appeals only to the individual effort…."
What is the impact of individualism? Individualism has been both a blessing and a curse. It allowed Americans to be pioneers in science, invention, technology, industry, entertainment, and every other field as well. But there is also a great price we have paid as well. We are “detached” and “withdrawn” from one another. We have shallow relationships at best, avoiding sharing our struggles, weaknesses, temptations, doubts, failures, or fears. Surveys continue to reveal that we are lonelier than ever. We are selfish and concerned about ourselves first, to the detriment of others. But perhaps most importantly, it has crippled us in our individual spiritual lives as we live out our faith in isolation from one another thus thwarting our mission of evangelizing the world and building the kingdom of God.
We are meant to have so much more. When I say the word ‘church’, what comes to mind? For most, the word ‘church’ makes us think of buildings and institutions but in the Bible, the word church literally means "the called-out ones"—those individuals who have been called out of darkness and together called into the light, thus forming God's new community as the communion of saints, the body of Christ and the family of God. The church is first about community, not buildings; about people, not programs. In reality, there's no such thing as Christian individualism; it's an oxymoron, a contradiction of terms. The church is meant to be a God-formed community of people who have abandoned the notion that life can and should be lived in isolation. Christians are meant to be connected—connected to God and to each other through Jesus Christ. I love what Frank Colquhoun says in his book, Total Christianity: "The fellowship of the church is part of God's good news to men. It imparts to the gospel one of its most thrilling notes—that when Christ saves a man, he not only saves him from his sin, he saves him from his solitude."
What are we called to? First, a life that is personal and communal. Life in Jesus is personal because Christ died for you and that means every person has a personal relationship with the Living God. It is also personal because every individual is responsible for their own spiritual growth. This is why Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” and thus we are accountable to Him for the choices he/she makes in life (Rom. 14:12). But it is also communal because when you come to faith you become a member of the family of God. The apostles taught the first followers of Jesus to live as a community with a sense of belonging and accountability (Mt. 18:15-17). They were to love one another, encourage each other and hold one another accountable to their faith (1 Thess. 5:14; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 1:22). 1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2:5-11; Gal. 6:1-3).
The Greek word used to describe this is Koinonia. It is translated in the NT as communion, fellowship, sharing, common, contribution, and partnership. None of these words, however, adequately captures what the early Christians meant when they spoke of koinonia. Koinonia is a relationship of great intimacy and depth, one so rich in fact that it even became the favorite expression for the marital relationship ... the most intimate of relationships between human beings. Christians having donuts and coffee together in the "fellowship" Hall after the Sunday service doesn’t cut it. It is sharing one common life in Jesus Christ together and that means the spiritual, the social, the intellectual, and the economic. No area of life is excluded." The Church is not simply a club but a family sharing life together. It is all of us together striving to lead lives of holiness. And anyone who doesn’t want to be held accountable, resisting correction, such a person is considered to be cut off from the body of Christ (2 Thess. 3:14). In other words, communal living wasn’t optional.
Second, a community defined by love. Paul said that we are called to be "imitators of God" by loving one another (Eph. 5:1, 2), and John tells us that love is the only way that we "behold God" in our midst: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." 1 John 4:11, 12 Without question, to love is "the greatest commandment" (Matt. 22: 36-40) Jesus said, 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you….By this all men will know that you are My disciples…"' (John 13: 34, 35) But what is love? The Greek word is agape. Which means sacrificial, self-giving love. But perhaps the best definition of agape is not through words but through an image, the cross. Just as Jesus sacrificed everything to die on the cross for us, we are to show our love for others and God’s love by sacrificing and giving to other, even to the point of the cross. Truly, the closer we come to Christ in love and to the cross, the closer we will come to those who have similarly given themselves to Him.
Third, a community whose life is an example of what’s possible. The church should model what human life and community can look like. God's great evangelistic tool is the church, a counter-cultural community in which the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comes to expression in the unity, fellowship, and joy of God's people as they share life together. As we do, we become a blessing to the world by showing the world an alternative to individualism through a community defined by love one another, care for one another, patience with one another, and serving one another. The world will take notice of a community of men and women who refreshingly and joyfully bear one another's burdens and who actively look to lay down their lives for others in need. When the world sees that, they'll begin to ask what makes us so different. Then we can share the Good News of Jesus Christ. A faithful presentation of the gospel first requires Christian community to be on full display.
The Bible focuses alot on Christians being "one body in Christ". Following Jesus is about sticking together and helping each other in life and faith. The only way we can ever become a holy people and reach for "perfection" in Christ is through community with others. For we are "perfected in unity " (John 17:23) As the people of God, we need to repent of our individualism and instead begin thinking about and living for the body of Christ as a whole. That means considering our actions, behaviors and decisions in light of others rather than just ourselves. It means leaning on others in times opf need rather than fighting the good fight on our own. Only this will bring the unity Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane. For Jesus knew that if we were not unified in thought, word and deed, we would never accomplish God’s will of building His kingdom here on earth. The early church lived this and modeled it for us and it is why Luke wrote in the Book of Acts that “All the believers were one in heart and mind.” Acts 4:36
Get over your insecurities and become accountable to other brothers and sisters in Christ! We need the encouragement, the loving correction and the upholding of one another– all done in love and truth, in humility and grace for the sake of each other and the lives we seek to live for the glory of God. Therefore, let us become vulnerable. Let us become humble. Let us learn to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21). Let us lose our insecurity and gain our security in Christ and in koinonia with each other. Let us peel off the facade. Let us become willing to listen – to learn and to receive correction. Let us become accountable to others for our faith So that together we may truly become the body of Christ and the family of God. Amen.
