The Wilson County / Tennessee State Fair is going on in our area, and several of our members have won ribbons. Kevin and Elijah Fisher both have Blue Ribbons to add to their collection! Saylor Mitchell is a ribbon winner for her fresh chicken eggs! I’m sure there are several others that brought home prizes, and we congratulate and rejoice with them. There is something about seeing people we know do well. You might say, “it’s exciting.” As Christians, we rejoice together and we cry together. As we go through life, we find that the ups and downs of those around us has a great impact on our life as well. Their emotions become our emotions.
Since 1970, the General Social Survey performed by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago https://www.norc.org/ has explored the trends in society, Subjects ranging from Marriage, Current Affairs, Liberties and Politics can all be explored on their website https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends One of the trends I found most interesting is “Life Satisfaction.” Their research allows the user to cross reference age, education, health, marital status, politics, race and religion. They discovered that as a whole, 52% of Americans currently describe their life as routine, 43% say it is exciting, and 4% call it dull. Since the early 1970s the findings reported that Americans who saw “life as exciting” was slowly but steadily increasing, from 43% in 1974 to 51% in 2018. But in 2021, they reported just 35% said the same. This marked the lowest in the history of the GSS. The number rebounded in 2022 but only to the previous low mark of 43% from 1974. When we isolate this number to those who attend a religious service or not, we see never-attenders experiencing a steep drop. In 2018, 48% called their life exciting, but that dropped to 29% in 2021. But for those who attended a church service on a regular bases, the “life as exciting” number goes as high as 63%.
The numbers are left to individual interpretation, but there is no denying that those who attend a church regularly find life to be just a little more exciting than those who do not. Could it be that the joy felt by others is contagious? When one wins, we all win? To those who do not attend church, our life as church goers might not seem too exciting. However, once you become part of small group fellowship, something happens that is undeniable. Life gets better. You have others to experience the highs and lows of life with. It might not be as exciting as a ride at the State Fair, but it sure is comforting to have others around you when life throws you for a curve!
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
Since 1970, the General Social Survey performed by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago https://www.norc.org/ has explored the trends in society, Subjects ranging from Marriage, Current Affairs, Liberties and Politics can all be explored on their website https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends One of the trends I found most interesting is “Life Satisfaction.” Their research allows the user to cross reference age, education, health, marital status, politics, race and religion. They discovered that as a whole, 52% of Americans currently describe their life as routine, 43% say it is exciting, and 4% call it dull. Since the early 1970s the findings reported that Americans who saw “life as exciting” was slowly but steadily increasing, from 43% in 1974 to 51% in 2018. But in 2021, they reported just 35% said the same. This marked the lowest in the history of the GSS. The number rebounded in 2022 but only to the previous low mark of 43% from 1974. When we isolate this number to those who attend a religious service or not, we see never-attenders experiencing a steep drop. In 2018, 48% called their life exciting, but that dropped to 29% in 2021. But for those who attended a church service on a regular bases, the “life as exciting” number goes as high as 63%.
The numbers are left to individual interpretation, but there is no denying that those who attend a church regularly find life to be just a little more exciting than those who do not. Could it be that the joy felt by others is contagious? When one wins, we all win? To those who do not attend church, our life as church goers might not seem too exciting. However, once you become part of small group fellowship, something happens that is undeniable. Life gets better. You have others to experience the highs and lows of life with. It might not be as exciting as a ride at the State Fair, but it sure is comforting to have others around you when life throws you for a curve!
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
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