Beverly, played by Susan Sarandon in the movie Shall We Dance, was asked “Why do people get married?” She responded, “Because we need a witness to our lives.” In a marriage two people say to each other, “Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it.” In life it is very important for all of us to know that we have an audience. That we aren’t living our lives in isolation, on our own, with nobody paying attention.
There was only one thing in all of the creation story, found in Genesis, that God said wasn’t good. It wasn’t good that man was alone. Thus, God created woman, so that the two could be witnesses to each other’s lives. The power of having an audience was a factor in our very creation.
Even the most introverted, recluse needs an audience to witness their life. We all need an audience to witness our lives. Some crave a bigger audience than others. But all of us need an audience. We were created by God with this need for each other.
This is exactly why one in three divorces list social media relationships as the primary cause. For whenever a husband or a wife go outside of the marriage relationship to find their audience, to find witnesses to their life, they end up eroding the foundation of their marriage. If your spouse isn’t witnessing your life, you will seek out another audience.
This is exactly why productivity on any job is directly related to an employee’s motivation. And an employee’s motivation is directly related to their ability to satisfy their personal needs. Thus, it benefits an employer to know an employee’s needs. For, research has proven, that job satisfaction is directly related to an employee’s personal needs being met. In other words, employee’s desire an audience, their employers, to help them find satisfaction and motivation.
This is exactly why we see so much political and ideological division. Since we all need an audience we seek out like-minded people. People who have similar political, religious, economic or social justice perspectives as we do. These witnesses or audiences are very friendly and affirming. We find peace, comfort and affirmation when we find an audience of like-minded people. And when life introduces us to people with different perspectives, since we already have our audience box checked, we disregard them.
Since God knows this fact about all of us. And God also knows that it is extremely difficult to keep the faith, fight the good fight and stay sane in the midst of so much insanity. He has given us all an audience. A great cloud of witnesses to our lives (Hebrews 12:1). Those who have gone before us and from whom we can learn valuable lessons. The Hall of Fame heroes of the faith are still a part of our stories. As they lived by faith, so must we live by faith. And as we live by faith, they are serving as our witnesses, our audience, cheering us on.