“Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone…” (Genesis 2:18b)
Despite all of our technological developments, loneliness is still a problem for a large portion of people. A recent Lifeline survey said 8 of 10 Australians believe our society is becoming a lonelier place. The survey highlighted that technology has not helped us become less lonely. It’s merely given us new tools to work with that either push us deeper into genuine relationships or further away from them.
Even more interesting is that majority of people naturally agree that loneliness is a bad thing. We don’t have to work very hard to convince people that they don’t want to be lonely. Now, perhaps there is a difference between the feeling of loneliness as opposed to simply being alone (we all want to be alone sometimes, right?!). But loneliness has a particular edge, and long-term loneliness offers a deep and difficult pain to those who feel trapped in it and by it. I enjoy being alone to focus on something, but I’ve never enjoyed feeling lonely.
We’re used to singing songs to God that say, “You are all I need.” This can imply that a relationship with God is all we need (that may not necessarily be what the song-writer is intending). Did it ever occur to you that not even God thinks he’s all you need? God said it was not good for the human being to be without other human beings. He designed life and human beings that they would relate to him and other people. He sought to remove our loneliness from us.
We do need each other. We need regular community and real friendships in our lives. The purpose of church is not simply relationships, but it’s certainly a significant reason for you to be a part of one. Church offers relationships with other people who relate with their Creator and drive us to be closer to God and each other. And one thing is certain, watching those relationships by yourself on a screen is statistically, scientifically, emotionally and spiritually not enough for anyone.