Reflections on RFK Jr.’s Nomination, Google Map's Renaming Moves, and the Loneliness Epidemic

Jim Denison

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is President Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services. If approved, he will become our nation’s top health official and control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations, and health insurance for roughly half the country. His confirmation hearing yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee was highly contentious as he faced questions from both parties regarding vaccines, Medicare and Medicaid, and abortion. His hearing before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee is today.

Caroline Kennedy, cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wrote a letter to senators calling him a “predator” who is addicted to power. However, another cousin, Patrick J. Kennedy, wrote a letter to the editor of the Washington Post supporting his nomination.

The Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America?

In other news, Google announced it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on Google Maps following President Trump’s executive order to rename it. However, the president of Mexico says, “For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world, it is still the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Associated Press will refer to the Gulf by both names. It notes that this is not unprecedented: what the US government calls the Gulf of California, Mexico recognizes as the Gulf of Cortez, so AP uses both names.

Google will also change the name of Denali to Mount McKinley. It notes that since the mountain lies solely in the US and the president has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country, they will recognize this name.

But even this issue is not fully settled: Alaska House members passed a resolution Monday urging the president not to rename the mountain, describing Denali as “a symbol of culture and a symbol of respect.”

Is the “Loneliness Epidemic” a Myth?

Our postmodern culture is convinced that there is no such thing as objective reality, only your reality and mine. In this view, perception is reality.

Given the absolute authority of God as king and the objective truth of his revealed word, I disagree completely, of course. However, it is the case that perception can become reality if we believe the two to be the same.

For example: The US Consumer Confidence Index declined in January as consumers became less optimistic about future business and income conditions. Such pessimism may cause consumers to cut back on spending, which would further weaken the economy and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Atlantic recently reported on an ongoing loneliness epidemic, writing that “self-imposed solitude might just be the most important social fact of the twenty-first century.” But another Atlantic article contradicts the first. Titled “The Myth of a Loneliness Epidemic,” it notes that Americans “may not actually feel more desolate than they did in the past.”

My guess is that if you believe yourself to be lonely, you are likely to feel lonely. If you believe yourself to be loved, you are likely to feel loved.

Therein lies my point today.

“The Major Strategy of Satan”

In Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, Henri J. W. Nouwen writes that you and I are God’s “Beloved” based not on our merit but on the fact that “God is a Lover.” Our Father loves us because it is his very nature to do so. He loves us right now as much as when he allowed his Son to die so we might live with him in eternity.

However, writer Neil T. Anderson warns:

The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can’t change God, and he can’t do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn’t true.

If we can be persuaded that God does not exist, or that he is irrelevant to our daily lives, we will be closed to his transforming love. As a result, we will refuse to believe that such love exists.

And our perception becomes our reality.

In this case, since we were made in the image of the God who “is” love (Genesis 1:27; 1 John 4:8), we will seek to love and be loved in other ways. This is why the decline in religion and rise in sexual immorality across recent decades are related.

Martin Luther was right: “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands.” This lie explains every sin you and I commit.

The answer is to change our perception so as to change our reality. It is to see God as our loving Father, then trust him to be this in our lives. It is to believe that he answers our prayers with his best, then offer our prayers with confidence. It is to decide that his will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NIV), then obey it with gratitude.

When we do, our perception becomes our reality.

“Like Discovering a Well in the Desert”

Henri Nouwen assured us:

Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.

Will you listen to “the voice that calls you the Beloved” today?

(For more on our theme, please see my recent website article, “Court rules that elephants are not persons: A reflection on your deepest purpose and highest joy.”)

Quote for the Day:

“Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the ‘Beloved.’ Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.” —Henry J. M. Nouwen

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.