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The Cost of 6 ft

Over the last year (2020), living 6ft apart has become our new normal. And for public health reasons, it’s been both necessary and lifesaving! But living distanced from one other has been our trajectory for quite a while now, so much so that some of us are ready to embrace a distanced life for the long term. In this series we’ll see the hidden costs of living life distanced and detached from each other, our physical selves, and our planet, and we’ll grow to embrace the inherent vulnerabilities of embodied, connected, “flesh and blood” living as the best way for us to live.

Efficiency at the Cost of Presence

May 9, 2021

Life has never been more demanding (and all the moms said “Amen!”) So, it makes sense that we look for short cuts to make it all fit. But as we grow to rely on efficient shortcuts, we all know deep down that what we’re cutting out are some of the least efficient but the richest parts of life.

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Comfort at the Cost of Caretaking

May 2, 2021

Christians live with tensions… the world is passing away and yet, it’s not a throw-away. The same is true with our own bodies. In both cases, it’s in our best interests to care for the physical parts of creation, but they’re not very cooperative! No wonder we find ourselves in retreat, indoors, on our couches, looking at our screens. But ignoring the call of God to steward the physical world (including our physical selves) has consequences that will not be ignored.

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Peace at the Cost of Growth

Apr 25, 2021

By keeping our distance, we not only keep ourselves physically safe, but we can block whoever hurts us, find an audience who will be sympathetic to all our views, and never be challenged. Meanwhile, we all know that living in proximity with others, in flesh and blood relationships, causes conflict that can be exhausting and heartbreaking. But before we sign up for the distanced life, we should know without conflict there is no growth.

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Connection at the Cost of Intimacy

Apr 18, 2021

Our digital world makes us feel like we’re more connected than ever before, but it also means we somehow feel less seen, known, and loved as we really are. Our mediated and manicured avatars may look great and provide us with plenty of attention, on top of 24/7 connection, but they work against what we need most: being truly seen and known.

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Survival at the Cost of Life

Apr 11, 2021

Right now, we have to sit distanced because we know that if we don’t, people will get sick and die. But distancing ourselves is not new, we have increasingly chosen to distance ourselves from others for all kinds of reasons… all of them about self-protection (of health, life, reputation, and complications). But the Spirit that is released after Jesus’s resurrection shows us that self-protecting is actually a detriment to truly living.

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The Cost of 6ft

Apr 4, 2021

Jesus, the Son of God, chose not to stay distant from us, at Christmas he came near. But his life, and especially his rejection, betrayal, and death show us why flesh and blood living is so risky. Lately in our world, we see it too. The risks of embodied living seem endless. Yet, after the resurrection Jesus shows us that in spite of the risks, living proximate, fully embodied, is not only a great way to live, it’s our destiny.

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