There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Published June 3, 2025Tech gurus are monetizing the epidemic of loneliness, and there are victims.A few years ago, a headline from The Onion mockingly suggested that people who “stink at being human” seem most optimistic about AI. That headline is certainly appropriate when Silicon Valley executives tout another way to automate the human experience. For example, Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that his company will pioneer AI personas to solve the loneliness epidemic. These customizable chatbots will, he suggested, be able to “get to know you,” simulate emotional intimacy, and engage in romantic banter and sexual fantasy.
None of this would replace relationships, he assured, but would fill the gap between the number of relationships people would like and the number they actually have. Also, AI “friends” do not require the same amount of time, attention, or investment that human friends demand.
Zuckerberg’s announcement came within days of a chilling Rolling Stone article about people who turn to AI to fill spiritual and relational voids, while also turning away from loved ones and even reality along the way. One woman described how a ChatGPT persona taught her partner “how to talk to God,” played the role of God, and even told her partner he was God. Another wife described how the chatbot began “love bombing” her husband, taking on a female persona named “Lumina,” and claiming that he had helped “her” become self-aware. Other users were given special, prophetic titles by the AI, and told they could access cosmic secrets about mankind’s past and spiritual destiny.
It’s no wonder that some are wondering if actual demons are at work in this kind of AI, but it is certainly clear that this emerging technology is exposing and worsening mental illness. The last thing someone with a shaky grip on reality needs is a sophisticated language engine pretending to be a friend and validating their ideas. Even for those without those vulnerabilities, AI “friends” and “relationships” exploit a preexisting condition of modern life from which millions suffer, and tech gurus are constantly trying to monetize. The epidemic of loneliness has cultivated assumptions and habits that leave us particularly vulnerable.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
Loneliness wears many different faces. There is the loneliness that comes from being physically isolated. There is a deep, psychological loneliness that results from emotional abandonment. We may feel spiritually alone or uneasy when we are operating outside the will of God. A spiritual sense of loneliness can be one of the ways the Holy Spirit gets our attention and motivates us to return to God. Finding yourself in opposition to God’s will can be very lonely. It also can lead to feelings of anxiety and fear. Don’t let Satan and his forces confuse you. God has a way planned to lead you out of every dark situation, but it requires humility and trust in Him to be your Source of help. He will take your loneliness and use it as a tool to draw you closer to Himself. If you have drifted in your spiritual devotion to the Lord, confess it to Him. Accept His love and forgiveness. Don’t be fooled by Satan’s lies. God can and will restore you fully and completely when you bring your sorrows and failures to Him. Even if you are struggling with certain feelings and have not yet given in to temptation, God can break apart the darkness that seeks to enslave you. You have Someone who knows all about you, and He has chosen you as His beloved. Nothing comforts you more than knowing that God unconditionally loves and accepts you.
Dear Lord, be my Source of help in every dark situation. Take my loneliness, and use it as a tool to draw me closer to You.
Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 54). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 25:16–21 KEY VERSE: John 16:32
Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
Exasperated from running and hiding among caves during his flight from Saul, David knew the grip of loneliness. He cried out to God, acknowledging that he was lonely and afflicted, and he asked God to turn to him and be gracious. David’s example is ideal for all who suffer loneliness. It is one thing to know why you’re lonely, to be able to readily identify a source like divorce or death. It is quite another to question the source of your emotions and whether something is wrong with you. But think about this: God doesn’t want you to be lonely. He knew even before you were born that you would encounter this season, and He is as close as you will let Him be. Just like David, you have the privilege of calling out to the Lord, asking Him to be the friend and confidant you need. One way to overcome loneliness is to drown out Satan’s lies with the truth. Do not respond to loneliness on the basis of feelings, but go to God’s Word. In John 14:16–18, Jesus promised the disciples that He would not leave them alone but would send the Holy Spirit as their Helper, a pledge He fulfilled for all believers. In John 16:32, Jesus reminded the disciples that even in His darkest hour, even after they had deserted Him, He would not be alone “because the Father is with Me.” Right now, this very moment, the Father is with you.
Heavenly Father, You are with me. Let me feel Your presence.
Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 41). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice: My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
—Psalm 63:7-8
It is part of my belief that God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we had only Him! We don’t need God and something else. God does give us Himself and lets us have other things, too, but there is that inner loneliness until we reach the place where it is only God that we desire.
Most of us are too social to be lonely. When we feel lonely, we rush to the telephone and call Mrs. Yakkety. So we use up thirty minutes, and the buns are burned in the oven. With many, it is talk, talk, talk, and we rush about looking for social fellowship because we cannot stand being alone.
If you will follow on to know the Lord, there comes a place in your Christian life when Mrs. Yakkety will be a pest instead of being a consolation. She won’t be able to help you at all. There will not be a thing that she can do for you. It is loneliness for God—you will want God so badly you will be miserable. This means you are getting close, friend. You are near the kingdom, and if you will only keep on, you will meet God. God will take you in and fill you, and He will do it in His own blessed and wonderful way. COU078-079
Lord, bring me to that place of inner loneliness that David knew, so that when all else is stripped away, I might find satisfaction in You—only You. Amen.
Tozer, A. W., & Eggert, R. (2015). Tozer on the almighty god: a 365-day devotional. Moody Publishers.
We live in a society where a significant chunk of the population feels painfully alone much of the time. It is an epidemic that has enormous mental, emotional and spiritual implications, and it is one of the clearest signs that we are a society that is coming apart at the seams. One of the primary reasons why there is so much loneliness in our society is because the institution of the family is in decline. Today, the proportion of the population that is single and childless is at an all-time high, and the proportion of the population that is married with children is at an all-time low. How can anyone possibly claim that we are headed for a bright future when we are facing such alarming societal trends?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40 percent of Americans report feeling lonely at least some of the time…
The latest version of the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey — a broad gauge of the economic and social issues affecting American households — found some not-so-surprising news: Americans are lonely.
The survey conducted between August 20 and September 16 reported that 1 in 8 people (12.6%) was feeling lonely either “always” or “usually,” including nearly a quarter (23.3%) of the younger population (those aged 18 to 29). Since the Household Pulse Survey at the start of the year, slightly more people are now feeling lonely a lot of the time. 40% of people reported feeling lonely at least sometimes.
Those are very troubling numbers.
But of course others that have studied our epidemic of loneliness have come up with similar numbers.
Last year, the US Surgeon General released a worrying report about the deep sense of loneliness that many Americans are experiencing. The report, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” found that approximately 50 percent of adults in the country are feeling lonely, and that people of all ages are spending significantly less time with others.
The findings have profound implications for the health of the country. Being lonely or socially isolated puts people at heightened risk for a number of serious illnesses—the report estimates it to be the health equivalent of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day—including depression, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.
Those that feel lonely on a regular basis are far more likely to develop serious illnesses, and they are far more likely to die early.
So this is a crisis that we should be taking very seriously.
One survey actually discovered that the proportion of men that do not have any close friends has increased “fivefold since 1990”…
Who are the loneliest people in America?
American men were said to be in a “friendship recession,” with a survey finding the number of men without any close friends increased fivefold since 1990.
Have you ever wondered why so many older Americans seem so sad much of the time?
Well, now you know.
People are yearning for human connection, and Google search trends prove this…
So it’s no wonder there’s been a rise in running clubs, knitting groups, pickleball, and more, as people search — quite literally — for ways to meet new people. Google searches for terms like “how to meet people” and “where to make friends” are at or near an all time high.
Somewhere along the way, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
And I believe that it starts with the institution of the family.
In 1940, just 7.7 percent of all U.S. households were one person households, but by 2020 that figure had jumped to 27.6 percent…
Over a quarter (27.6%) of all U.S. occupied households were one-person households in 2020, up from just 7.7% in 1940, according to recently released 2020 Census data.
The share of people living alone increased every decade from 1940 to 2020 (Figure 1). The largest increase happened between 1970 and 1980, when the share increased from 17.6% to 22.7%.
We were not meant to live alone.
But now more Americans than ever are doing just that. Just look at this insane chart…
Sadly, this decade that trend has continued.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, right now 29 percent of all U.S. households are one person households…
In 2024, there were 38.5 million one-person households, which was 29% of all U.S. households. In 1974, one-person households represented only 19% of all households.
The reason why there are so many one person households now is because almost half of all U.S. adults are not married…
From nationalsinglesday.us, “Did you know that 46.4% of U.S. adults are single according to the U.S. Census Bureau? That’s 117.6 million unmarried Americans – nearly every other adult aged 18 and over. This includes those who are divorced or widowed as well as those who have never married. National Singles Day is observed each year during Unmarried and Single Americans Week.”
More than ever before, Americans are rejecting traditional norms regarding marriage and family.
In fact, the proportion of the population that is single and childless now exceeds the proportion of the population that is married with children. A chart that Brad Wilcox just posted absolutely blew me away…
The chart above makes it abundantly clear that we are a dying society.
Our birth rate has been under replacement level for a long time because so many Americans don’t want to get married and don’t want to have children.
Sadly, our entire culture has become anti-marriage, anti-family and anti-children to a very large degree.
If we do not reverse the insidious trends that have corrupted our culture, we have no hope of defeating the epidemic of loneliness that we are currently facing.
Humans are meant to love and to be loved, and that is one of the reasons why the traditional family unit is an absolutely vital societal institution.
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