Solidarity Sunday: Staying in the Word
If you've been to church, you've likely heard of "staying in the word".
"Staying in the Word" is a Christian concept referring to a deep, consistent commitment to God's teachings and commands, which are found in the Bible. It involves not just reading the Bible, but meditating on it, obeying it, and allowing its truths to shape your life.
The point here isn't to tell you to read the Bible. The point is this:
Whatever "word" you stay in is how the world will show up for you.
If your days are spent in conversations about blame, the latest outrage, or a single political figure, that becomes the "word" you live in. Whether you spend hours on gambling forums, conspiracy threads, porn sites, or down some doom hole on the internet, those are the stories your mind most readily rehearses, and that's how the world shows up for you. If we constantly live on our phones consuming hours of doom and arguing with people online, is it any wonder why so many people seem to be so angry all the time?
This isn't just psychological. There's a physiological side to this, too. Our brains are wired to notice what we already care about: focus brings things into view. The reticular activating system, the brain's filtering mechanism, makes us more likely to spot what we're primed to look for. Algorithms mirror that process online: we search for or click on certain content, and the internet dutifully serves us more of it. Attention and environment feed each other. The "word" you're in calls up more of itself.
Attention is a moral and practical choice. And that's what we can preach to our members. If one wants a life shaped by brotherhood and sisterhood, by compassion, curiosity, or faith, or positivity, one must intentionally inhabit those words. Otherwise it simply will not happen.
Read books and articles that expand you. Talk with people who challenge and encourage you. Stay off social media (or at least stay out of arguments and inflammatory content). Turn off the feeds that constantly stoke anger, fear, or envy. Small, steady choices about where you spend your minutes add up to a worldview, and a life, that looks like the words you choose.
It is not easy. Lord knows the first idle second I have, I must fight to stay off the "anxiety box" in my pocket. But if we are to "be the change we wish to see in the world", then we must be deliberate about the word we inhabit. Because whether it's scripture, cynicism, fear, or playfulness, the word you live in becomes the story you tell, the habits you keep, and the person you become. Stay where you want to grow.