The Cure for Loneliness
Do you know anyone suffering from loneliness? Statistically, nearly 75 percent of all Americans report moderate-to-high levels of loneliness (see the chart). The U.S. Surgeon General has stated we have an “epidemic of loneliness” and it is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes day. This loneliness is not only leading to poor health conditions, but also costing employers an estimated $154 billion annually in absences and $6.7 billion annually in excess Medicare spending. All this sounds prolific and problematic, but there is hope.
According to the latest chapter of the 2024 State of the Bible released by the American Bible Society (ABS), Bible engagement, forgiveness, and church attendance all offer individual antidotes to loneliness, decreasing the malady by more than 50 percent.
Scripture engagement offers interaction with a God who loves us “with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), and a God whom the Psalmist said is familiar with all of our ways (Psalm 139:3). When God’s Word is engaged, only 11 percent of Scripture-engaged respondents reported high levels of loneliness, compared to 22 percent of those considered Bible-disengaged.
Among Churchgoers, only 12 percent of those who attend church weekly report high levels of loneliness, compared to 25 percent of those who never attend. This is likely due to the fact that the church is gathered together.
In regard to forgiveness, 16 percent of those strongly able and somewhat able to forgive reported high levels of loneliness, compared to 36 percent of those strongly unable to forgive, and 22 percent of those somewhat unable to forgive. We understand forgiveness set us free from our sins in Christ, and our forgiveness of others sets us free from anger, resentment, bitterness, and the hurt that separates us.
Loneliness varied by generation and gender. In ABS research, 37 percent of Gen Z females reported high levels of loneliness, compared to 18 percent of Gen Z males. Only 14 percent of Gen Z females reported low levels of loneliness, compared to 23 percent of Gen Z males. The lowest levels of loneliness were found among older Americans (in the Boomer-plus category) where males and females equally reported high levels of loneliness at 11 percent. Annual income levels above $100,000 correlated with lower levels of loneliness, researchers found, with 13 percent of those in that income bracket reporting high levels of loneliness, compared to 33 percent of those earning less than $20,000.
The State of the Bible is based on a nationally representative survey conducted for ABS by NORC at the University of Chicago, using the AmeriSpeak panel. Findings are based on 2,506 online interviews conducted in January 2024 with adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. You can download chapters one through eight here.
As believers, we know God created us for companionship that is meaningful, loving, and committed to the well-being of others. Our heavenly Father loves us, forgave us, and adopted us into His family, and our loneliness factor is directly tied to how we learn to live out our union with Him and with our brothers and sisters in Christ as the ABS study reveals.
Remember what God repeatedly tells us: “I am with you.”
Pastor Jeff
“I thank Thee, Lord, first because it is the first time I have ever been robbed. Second, I thank Thee because he took my purse and not my life. Third, I thank Thee because, though he took my all, it was not very much. Fourth, I thank Thee because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed...”