The Injurious Ideology of Individualism
by Christopher Hendrix
We’ve returned from spending some time in the States, and the jet lag has finally worn off! Some years have passed since we last were back. As I’ve prayerfully processed all that took place, I’ll devote the next few weeks to some considerations for us as American Christians. These will include things to thank the Lord over and find encouragement in our day and age. These will also include things that we must repent of, preach the Gospel, and stand against culture.
The Influence of Christianity
The fruit of Christianity from the roots of America still lingers. The nation continues to reap the benefits of the Christian founding and the years of Christian influence. The number of Christians in the culture continues to leaven the country's culture. The past 5 years have challenged many Christians to think biblically about family, church, and the nation. This has drawn out the hearts of people and where their allegiance actually lies, with Christ or culture. Though the general trend of church attendance has decreased, those present have a desire and appetite to know Christ. Christianity still has an influence in America, and we should be very thankful for this.
The Individualism in Christianity
Radical individualism continues to wreak havoc upon our nation. A look around public locations, like parks or restaurants, revealed people buried in their phones while children played and spouses ate. Churches felt the pang of people deciding online that “church” met their needs more than gathering with the body. Families going their separate ways and sitting in different places to eat for dinner, and sitting on different sides of the church building to worship at church. This radical individualism rots our society, and this trend continues to push forward.
Many of the sins of our nation stem from radical individualism. This mindset nourishes the porn obsession as women claim the freedom to show whatever they want, and men hide in their individual lives, consuming it. For men, lust runs rampant as men can never satisfy their want of sexual pleasure. For women, lust runs wild as they can never fulfill the desire to be wanted by showing their bodies, especially the baby-making and nourishing parts. Our culture is sexually charged because individualism has attacked the covenant of marriage. Sex has been ripped from its covenantal place in marriage and set in the public square for each individual to consume.
The Basic Building Block
Individualism has poisoned the family unit. Families, the basic building block of society, have prioritized their children in unhealthy ways. Sports and activities dominate the family schedule to the extent of pulling them out of church. Weekends center around each individual kid’s activity instead of the entire family bonding together. After all, that particular child must feel important and valued as an individual, right? The problem with this line of thinking is that a half-truth hides in it. While we want our kids to feel valued and loved, their value shouldn’t be reinforced through an “it’s all about you” way. That’s individualism. Their value comes from being image bearers in a Christian home who contribute to the household. These contributions may include enjoying one another’s company, learning a new skill for the family’s enjoyment, household chores, and various creative activities.
Sports certainly can be a part of this. In fact, I’m the first to argue that sports teach disciplines and life skills that stem from Scripture and are essential. However, does the family control the sports schedule, or does the sports schedule control the family? The difference is where their attention and energy are focused on. Is it external, which teaches them self-prioritization, or internal, which teaches them family-prioritization? One might argue, don’t they need to learn to become self-sufficient and independent? Yes, but the difference between independence and individualization is the mindset. Children learn to become self-sufficient within the confines of the family, learning that independence involves making sacrifices on their own. The goal of independence is to learn how to give of oneself freely without any help (Eph. 5:1–2). Individualism says to take for oneself and not consider others (Phil. 2:3–5). It says that life is about MY dreams and wants. How much money will I make? What college or trade will I do to benefit ME? These outward statements reveal an inward heart bent towards individualism.
In addition, add to this the atomization of each member in the house. Kids go their separate ways, consuming screens while parents are in different rooms. Family time consists of watching a movie together. The problem with this is that there’s no engagement with one another. Parents are not actually learning and studying their kids because everyone is focused on a screen. A way to redeem this is to discuss the movie afterwards. Kids grow into teens who struggle to talk to their parents because this wasn’t cultivated at a young age. This lack of cultivation stems from the individual's bent. We think within the confines of our culture without stopping to think about the impact of our actions.
The Reality of the Covenant
As Christians, we must recognize that our families are built upon covenants (Mal. 2:14). These covenants are not just agreements or contracts, but sacred bonds that unite each member to one another. This is why Scripture can give commands to each member of the household (Eph. 5:22–Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:18–4:1; 1 Peter 3:1–7). Each person in the household is oriented towards the others. The husband is focused on giving himself to his wife. We are all called to love one another. But, because men struggle with loving as they should, a special command is given to them towards their wives. The way God has built the wife, she is most satisfied when she is loved.
Likewise, the wife is called to submit. We are called to mutually submit to one another, but because the wife struggles with submission in her sin nature, a special command is given to her. God built men to receive respect, and submission gives this respect. He is most satisfied when his wife lets him lead. Fathers are not to exasperate their children. Unnecessary commands and expectations do this very thing. Strict households easily exasperate the children. On the other side of the fence, households with no boundaries or discipline also exasperate children. They need structure and authority, and when these are lacking, the children are frustrated. Likewise, children are called to obey. The Bible speaks directly to them to teach them their role in the covenant. These things define the basic posture towards one another. It takes godly wisdom to apply these well in the covenantal context.
Conquering Radical Individualism
When Christians live oriented towards one another, i.e., in a covenantal way, then this begins to rip at the foundation of individualism. We begin to understand who we are in Christ and our obligations to one another. Our households will strengthen, which leads to more potent churches. Powerful churches lead to stronger societies influenced by Christianity. The way to conquer individualism in our culture isn’t through politics, quick-fix strategies, or adopting some of the culture to attack the culture. It’s through living out the covenantal reality in our families. Of course, this is only done through Christ. It starts with our own hearts. Do we realize that we can’t work in our own strength? We are utterly dependent upon Christ alone to work these mindsets out of us and to work His truth in us. The first step to conquering individualism is to die to ourselves, humble ourselves before Christ, and seek Him.