Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NLT
God created humans in such a way that we work best when we're working with others, as a team. That's the way He made us, even from the very beginning when God saw Adam alone in the Garden of Eden and saw that it was "not good" for him to be alone. (Gen 2:18).
But I'm not just talking about the marriage relationship here. This basic principle applies to families and communities, too. Every person in the world was made to live and function as part of a family. When we're cut off from other people, something goes desperately wrong inside of us. There's this innate need in each of us to connect with other people - it's the way we were created.
I believe this is partly why God commands us so many times in the Bible to care for widows, for the orphaned and outcast. Everyone was meant to live as part of a family.
The world in which we live is broken - it's shattered into about 6.942 billion pieces. We're all disconnected from one another, and disconnected from God. But whenever you do something to reach out to someone else, you become a part of the solution. It makes a difference in this world, no matter how small your action may seem to you.
This is something I struggle with a lot. It's not always easy for someone who (like me)isn't naturally extroverted and outgoing to crawl outside my shell - just approaching someone to say a friendly "hello" can be very scary sometimes.
Definitely one area in which I need to challenge myself. Even if I don't have the guts to 'challenge myself', I'm sure God will still provide plenty of challenges - He seems to have a knack of putting me into situations that I find very awkward and uncomfortable for the sake of character building and personal growth! ;-)
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1 comment:
Good post. We need one another for a variety of reasons.
This makes me think of how much God uses others in our sanctification. When I had only one child, I thought I was a wonderful parent. Children who don't have other children to share toys with or who rub them the wrong way now and then, may appear to be little angels. But throw another little sinner in the mix and you'll see the sparks fly - and the sanctification begin.
Working out fellowship with other believers who aren't "just like us" is a wonderful way to deal with the hidden sin in our flesh. It's easy to be a "good friend" when we all agree. But what do we look like when we disagree - perhaps passionately?
I don't believe we're meant to be alone. Christian family and Christian community is part of His plan. That's why the individualistic mindset of today's society (and church) is a failure in so may ways.
"God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land." (Psalm 68:6, NKJV)
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