In another of his always thoughtful pieces, New York Times columnist David Brooks identifies a fact that is worth reflecting on with care. As far as I’m concerned, it’s almost impossible to not reflect on it. Because it is, to say the least, counterintuitive. In Brooks’ words:
More people around the world report that they are living better lives than before. Plus they are becoming more hopeful about the future…
The number of people who say they are thriving has been rising steadily for a decade. The number of people who say they are suffering is down to 7 percent globally… This trend is truly worldwide, with strong gains in well-being in countries as far-flung as Kosovo, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Paraguay.
Unfortunately, there is a little bad news. Some people reported sharp declines in well-being. That would be us. The share of the population that is thriving is falling in America, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, 67 percent of Americans and Canadians said they were thriving. Now it’s down to 49 percent.
To put it another way, the nations with some of the highest standards of living are seeing the greatest declines in well-being. We still enjoy higher absolute levels of well-being than nations in the developing world do, but the trend lines are terrible.
The first discernment question arises at this point. Does this statistical finding resonate with your experience? And what do you think it means?
I have no business commenting on conditions and attitudes in Kazakhstan or even New Zealand. I can attest, however, to the sense that in the Midwest where we live, many are convinced that thriving in America is increasingly difficult. If not impossible. People seem uncertain of what is to come. Where there used to be confidence in the American dream, most now believe that is an illusion. At least for the majority. The real estate market is chaotic, and first-time homeowners wonder if they’ll ever be able to afford a decent place in a decent neighborhood with decent schools. Recent college graduates struggle to find the employment they expected. And that college reps promised.
Is it that our expectations are too high? In many places, in Europe, for example, it is expected for multiple generations to live together in (relatively) small spaces. Would we be comfortable if that became a measure of American success? Or are our expectations reasonable but things outside our control conspiring against human thriving?
Answers here will not be easy. Human life and society are highly complex, individuals vary widely, and generalizing often is little more than unhelpful oversimplification.
But it seems to me this is an important enough issue that it should be on our radar screen. For discussions in Sunday school classes, Bible studies, and over meals.
Which leads to the next discernment question. Even without reading French’s piece we are all probably aware of this issue. At least to some extent. Many of us face it within our own families. So, have we begun seriously thinking about it in terms of the gospel, Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation? We should. At least so we are clear and biblical in our thinking about thriving for ourselves and our loved ones. And how we feel about it.
Brooks says that for people to sense they are thriving, three things need to be in place.
People thrive when they live in societies with rising standards of living and dense networks of relationships, and where they feel their lives have a clear sense of purpose and meaning. That holy trinity undergirds any healthy society. It’s economic, social and spiritual.
The discernment question at this point is, of course, do you agree with that three-fold prescription? Why or why not?
I suspect French’s trinity is true today, especially in a consumerist world. But I also suspect that myriad mystics, prophets, and godly poor believed they were thriving even though their standard of living wasn’t rising as they followed their calling. Meaningful relationships and a clear sense of meaning and purpose strike me as far more essential.
And surely the Church must care for the economic well-being of its neighbors. Helping to build structures, and growth into human communities that improve the economic opportunities of people is to bring grace into the real needs of real people.
That seems to me to be a God-ordained opportunity for the Church. If we are about anything, we should be about relationships, meaning, and purpose. All three are central to the gospel of the kingdom of Christ. It’s something that we should not merely talk about but flesh out.
What is human thriving from a biblical perspective?
Which leads us to the next discernment question. Do we demonstrate, by attitude, speech, and life that we are thriving? Why or why not?
“Rejoice always,” St. Paul instructs us, “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]. It would be difficult to insist we aren’t thriving if we are being obedient to that. Living like this is a witness to the reality of Christ. We are not governed by the constant negative news cycle, or fears for the future, or dominated by the angry, frightened complaints voiced by our neighbors and the media. We are Christ’s and in him we can “give thanks in all circumstances” because he is Lord, he is risen, and he will return.
As God’s people we should be thriving. Our circumstances may be difficult, our concerns may be many, but because Jesus is Lord, we have every reason to believe that we are in the very best place we could possibly be. We probably can’t see why that is true, or how, but then our perspective isn’t really the one that counts.
And what makes this all especially fascinating, is that thriving is countercultural. It is, in itself, a witness to Christ.
O God, the protector of all those who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy, that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [2019 Book of Common Prayer, Proper 4]
Photo credit: Photo by Artem Podrez
