God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
What follows is the introduction to a book I’m writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). (That’s a working title by-the-way. If you have an idea for a better title, I hope you’ll share it with me.) For the next few weeks I’ll post a chapter of this book on the God Running blog, until the book is completed. Thank you in advance to my brother in Christ and editor, Wes Beyer, for your help with this book.
I recognize we’re pivoting here. Our normal thing is to post articles commenting on scripture; most recently we’ve been working through Romans. Lord willing, after the book is finished, we’ll get back to our through-the-Bible study.
Loneliness and Isolation
“There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one.”
― G.K. Chesterton1
It’s an epidemic: loneliness and isolation. The surgeon general published a report about it in 2023. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, around half of adults reported feeling lonely and isolated.
Here’s a quote from that report:
“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders.”
Our physical health is compromised when we’re lonely and isolated. We experience an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and premature death. But the mental health problems isolation causes might be even worse. The risk of depression among those who are lonely is twice that of those who aren’t.2
One thing to keep in mind here is that the apps on your phone, laptop, and tablet aren’t interested in your isolation and loneliness. They’re designed to attract your focus and attention, and to keep you engaged as long as possible – and to keep you coming back as often as possible. They’re designed to put in front of you the-most-interesting-thing-you’ve-ever-seen (or heard) over and over again. And as time goes on, they’re only becoming better at it.3
The problem created by such effective attention-grabbing apps and entertainment is akin to eating McDonald’s at 4:30 in the afternoon. If I fill up on McDonald’s, I have no appetite for the healthy, delicious meal my spouse makes me when I come home for dinner. If we fill up on our apps and the content our algorithms feed us, we have no interest or appetite in engaging with other human beings.
And this is profoundly unhealthy.
But there’s good news. Isolation and loneliness, and their associated problems, have a solution. And for the Jesus follower, that solution isn’t simply an answer to the mental and physical health problems described above. For the Jesus follower, the solution to loneliness and isolation includes an outpouring of personal strength and power and joy.
What I share in this book, I have put into practice myself, and I’ve observed others who have done the same. The results are amazing. If you’re intentional about doing what’s described in the following pages, your life will never be the same.
“Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates, and servants of God. Please Him under whom you fight, and from whom you receive your wages. Let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism endure as your arms; your faith as your helmet; your love as your spear; your patience as a complete panoply. Let your works be the charge assigned to you, that you may receive a worthy recompense.”
– St. Ignatius to Polycarp
Notes:
- G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Create Space, November 15, 2017
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devasting Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States”, May 3, 2023
- Tristan Harris, “How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind—from a Magician and Google Design Ethicist”, Medium, May 18, 2016
The Love Like Jesus Book
Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.
Let it speak to your heart this season.
We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:
It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.
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