Pain a symptom
Why do we care so much about being accepted? The reason is that the brain does not differentiate social pain from physical pain.
We experience pain when we do not have enough food we call it hunger, we experience pain when we don’t have enough liquid – we call it thirst, we experience pain when someone attacks us
We are are built to feel pain when excluded by others, we are motivated not to be excluded and motivated to get re-connected to the group, but also our ultimate acceptance will come from God. it says of Jesus in the Old Testament “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.” Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ who takes our pain and his church.
