Brenda’s Blog – June 18, 2019
“This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” The disclaimer made me laugh. The ad talked of the bountiful blessings supplied by this supplement. Yet, at the end of the commercial a very friendly voice repeated these words. So, what exactly does it do?
I learned that there is a broad category of producing well being that is acceptable for such products. Okay, I am a proponent of well-being, but I am not sure an expensive herbal supplement is the best answer.
What puts limits on our lives? What challenges our well-being?
Stress? Fear? Anger? Studies are showing loneliness is almost epidemic. Dr. Sandra Gray, President of Asbury University, told our What’s Next Roundtable team depression, loneliness, and anxiety are major issues for the students. The more social media increases its incursion into our lives, the higher the level of discontent and loneliness registers.
The more we escalate the speed of life the slower our ability to process and integrate becomes. Overloading our emotional and physical systems results in crashes and lack of wholeness.
What would our disclaimer look like in the wired, ramped up life? This way of life isn’t intended to produce joy, stability, or happiness. Yet, like the supplement we trade our days for a lifestyle which is more hype than hope.
What is the answer? The only one I know is being grounded in the Word of God, seeking His rhythm for our lives. Knowing we are here for a reason provides a foundation for a less chaotic existence. Putting our trust in a God creates an equilibrium which balances out the craziness of the disconnected, but ever connected world of social media.
It is time to do our own personal cost/benefit statement. Are we buying into a life which ultimately opens us to loneliness? Are we exchanging well-being for what looks like being well positioned? What good is a life which spirals down into a puddle of confusion?