The resource we most need during the coronavirus pandemic is human relationship

We typically use the term “natural resources” to refer to things like water, forests, and land deposits containing minerals and fossil fuels. We could make a compelling argument, however, for an even more precious natural resource: human relationships. I am convinced that love and social connection matter more than anything else in life. The priority of such relational wealth may not be obvious, given some of the purchasing and lifestyle decisions we make. But plenty of those decisions turn out to be distractions that only cloud the importance of social needs vital to our survival. 

There’s no question that Americans now gather together less frequently in person, meet fewer people overall, and develop less meaningful and durable bonds than previous generations did. Several years ago, while mapping trends of individual isolation, the Barna Group found that one in five adults reported feeling lonely regularly or often. Such a dramatic rise in loneliness has occurred in a relatively short period of recent history.

Curiously, it’s often a crisis—whether at the family, community, or national level—that strengthens our relational wealth by drawing us closer together. In the aftermath of 9/11, people didn’t want to be alone or apart from loved ones. They wanted to be together. In those anxious days, all kinds of bonds tightened within families and among friends as people stayed close to one another.