Numb, Divided, and Longing for More: What “Knives Out (3)” Got Right About Our Mental Health

There’s a moment in the latest Knives Out (3) movie that feels uncomfortably familiar. One character reflects on how hard it has become to genuinely connect with people:

“I tried everything. Believe me, I hammered the race thing… the gender thing… the border thing… the homeless thing… the war thing… the election thing… the abortion thing… the climate thing… Thing about induction stoves, Israel, library books, vaccines, pronouns, AK47s, socialism, BLM, CRT, the CDC, DEI, 5G, everything. All of it I did. Nobody. Just nothing. People are just numb these days.” (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, 2025)

That line lands because it names something many of us feel but struggle to articulate. We are exhausted by division. We are saturated with issues, opinions, outrage, and fear, and yet, we are starving for meaning, connection, and hope.

And here’s the irony: we’ve been told that if we just fight harder for the right causes, we’ll finally feel whole. But instead relationships are breaking apart.

Division Is a poor substitute for meaning.

The character goes on to say something chillingly honest:

“Maybe we need to get back to fundamentals… Show them something they hate and then make them afraid it’s gonna take away something they love.” (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, 2025)

That strategy works. We can see that fear motivates and  anger can mobilize, but it certianly does not heal.

Modern psychology and human flourishing research consistently show that fear-based identity formation leads to poorer mental health outcomes. We can see it. We know we even have to take a break from social media because this strategy is so dominant. We watch our friends spew hate, get others to join them, and demand alliance. And we are left wondering, “What is wrong with this world?”

Studies on flourishing emphasize that well-being is not rooted in constant activism but in meaningful relationships, purpose, morality, and hope. DO NOT gloss over this. Meaning is found in relationships, purpose, morality, and hope.

When people define themselves by what they oppose, then their flourishing diminishes. It's the repeated exposure to threat-based messaging that activates the body’s stress response, elevating cortisol levels and repeatedly triggering the fight-or-flight system.

Over time, this becomes associated with heightened anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and increased impulsive behaviors harming our well-being and relational health (American Psychological Association, 2023; VanderWeele, 2017).

Scripture describes this same state as living according to the flesh rather than the Spirit, where fear displaces peace and reactivity replaces wisdom.

Romans 8:5–6, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh… The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

When we are constantly scanning for threats instead of cultivating trust, we lose sight of what actually sustains us. Human flourishing research identifies core domains of well-being:

Meaning and purpose

Positive relationships

Character and virtue

Mental and emotional health

Notice what’s missing: perpetual outrage.

A society obsessed with winning arguments but disconnected from virtue formation will inevitably struggle with anxiety, depression, and relational breakdown. We were not designed to live in a constant state of moral combat.

From a Christian perspective we were made for peace, not perpetual war. Scripture has long recognized what modern research is rediscovering.

The Bible presents mental and emotional health as deeply connected to right relationships with God and with others. Jesus consistently refused to build His kingdom through coercion, fear, or tribal hatred. Instead, He called people to repentance, truth, and love without overriding their free will.

This matters. Human beings are not problems to be managed or enemies to be defeated, but image-bearers to be loved (Genesis 1:27).

When we reduce people to their opinions, votes, or social positions, we violate that truth—and our own mental health suffers as a result.

Scripture warns us:

“The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)

Anger may feel justified, but it is a terrible architect of flourishing.

Let’s be clear: taking a stand is not the problem. Our convictions matter. The ability to convey truth matters. Certainly, moral clarity matters. But one thing that should not be part of the Christian narrative is hatred.  Hatred is not a fruit of the Spirit.

You can hold strong beliefs without destroying relationships. You can disagree without dehumanizing or demanding submission. And you can honor free will by not bypassing it.

Jesus never forced belief. He invited it.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30

Demanding ideological conformity from friends or family, treating disagreement as betrayal, or cutting off relationships as punishment for differing views is not spiritual maturity.

It’s relational violence dressed up as righteousness. We are tired because we are living against our design.

We were created for peace, love, truth, and conviction with compassion that comes from God. The whole division merry-go-round delivers nothing but burnout. It keeps us busy but never whole.

Biblically and psychologically, peace returns when we return to the fundamentals:

1.    Seeing people as people, not their particular position on a topic

2.    Practicing kindness as strength

3.    Grounding identity in Christ

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)

That is not passivity. That is courage. So maybe that Knives Out monologue actually tells us something important.

People aren’t numb because they don’t care. They’re numb because they’ve been emotionally overloaded without being spiritually grounded. We need to step off the division merry-go-round.

If we truly believe in a God who changes hearts, we don’t need fear to do the work for us. We need love. We need truth. We need to remember what human flourishing actually looks like.

And sometimes, the most countercultural thing a Christian can do today is to be kind.

References

American Psychological Association. (2023).  Stress effects on the body.

Johnson, R. (Director). (2025). Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery [Film]. Netflix.

New International Bible. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978). 

VanderWeele, T. J. (2017).  On the promotion of human flourishing.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(31), 8148–8156. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702996114