Hikikomori, isolation and sin

(The following is an edited extract from the message that was preached on June 23, 2019.)

Text: Ephesians 4:4-6

“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about hikikomori in the news. A few weeks ago, a man went on a murderous rampage in Kawasaki city. I’m sure you heard the news, but there was a line of school children waiting for a bus. This man ran up with two knives, and first he stabbed another man who was waiting there, and then he ran down the line of children, stabbing as many as he could. He then ran a short distance and stabbed himself, committing suicide.

It turns out that this man was a hikikomori. There is no English word for this, because as far as I know, this doesn’t happen in any other countries. It’s a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, where some people just lock themselves in their room, and never come out. They rely on their parents, usually, to bring them food and wash their clothes, and take care of their needs. But they can remain like that for years.

Anyway, a week or so after that incident, there was another murder. A man was arrested for stabbing his son, who was also a hikikomori. His son was complaining about the noise from the local elementary school, which was having a sports festival. The father was genuinely worried that his son might go on the same killing spree that resulted in young children being stabbed. And so he killed his son.

Because of that, this whole hikikomoriissue was discussed in the mass media and lots of people were invited to come and give their opinion about the situation. As far as I know, nobody on any of these TV shows thought to consult the bible. If they had looked in the bible, they would have seen the cause of this social problem, which happens to be the same cause for every social problem, whether it’s poverty or sickness, crime or depression or bullying.

And that cause is sin.

Basically, the primary goal of sin is to separate. Sin aims to separate and divide. It works to separate people from God, and to separate people from each other.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

The very first sin, committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden, separated them from God. Right after that, murder entered the world when Cain killed his brother, and so sin started separating people.

And that is what is happening with people who are hikikomori. They have been separated from society, and isolated from other people. Some of these people choose this for themselves. They may have a strong dislike for society, or just feel overwhelmed with having to deal with people, so they choose to stay in their room.

Or for other people, it may not feel like a choice. They may feel it has been forced upon them, by bullying or harassment or other such things. But whichever the reason, the result is that hikikomoriare separated from society.

Sin divides.

Do you know what God’s love does? It unites.

God’s love forgives your sins, purifies your heart, and brings you back into God’s Kingdom, to be part of God’s family. It binds you closely to God and binds you to the people around you. God’s love has already done that, and it’s up to us to keep that unity.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

This is one of the most powerful ways that God reveals himself to the world. Through you and me, all of us together, getting along with each other. That in itself shows the power of God. Everywhere you go in society you see people arguing and fighting and having conflicts.

There is conflict and division everywhere. And so when we, the church, can keep this unity, through the bond of peace, that is a powerful sign of God’s presence.

How do we do that? Well, the verse beforehand says this:

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

What does that mean? Well, when I come to church, I’m not asking, “Is this church giving me what I want? Because if I’m not getting what I want in church, either this church needs to change, or I need to go somewhere else.”

You see, we live in that kind of culture. This is a consumer culture. If something doesn’t satisfy our needs, we leave, or quit, or stop, and go somewhere else. Whether it’s a café, or a school, or a music concert, or whatever else. We think “I’m investing time and money and effort into this thing, and so if I’m not satisfied with the product, then I’m outta here.”

As Christians, we do not have that attitude when we come to church. We don’t ask, “Are my needs being met?”, but, when we come to church, we ask a very different question. “Is my sister over here getting what she needs from church? Is my brother over here growing in faith and growing in love? Because if my brothers and sisters are not getting what they need, then we need to change the way we do church. I need to make sure they are being loved and blessed.”

And the funny thing is, when you take your eyes off yourself, and start thinking and caring about the needs of others, you will receive all that you need. God will meet all of your needs when you are serving others.

As Christians, one of the biggest blessings that the Lord has given us is unity. We have this unity already. We don’t need to create it, we just need to keep it. We have one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all. One faith. 

We have people here today from all different countries, from many different denominations, with different backgrounds and different personalities. But the Lord has brought us all here together. We all worship the one God, and we all have the one hope for eternal life together.