Better Together.
By Pastor Tim Klassen
We are in the midst of what has been labeled “a loneliness epidemic.” Dr. Lee, a physical at Mount Sinai Emergency Department has said, “loneliness is as bad for you as smoking.” Now, that is hardly an encouragement to pick up a bad habit — rather, it is a sobering reminder of how important it is for us to not walk through life alone.
Although we no longer live in quaint towns where everybody knows the owner of the grocery store down the street, our deep and real need for close relationships has not changed. Many years ago, God spoke this profound truth through the a man endowed with divine wisdom, as King Solomon penned these words in Ecclesiastes 3:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”
Solomon had this God-given revelation of our need to never walk alone. To the one who goes through life without a close friend or someone they can rely on, danger is likely closer then they think! There was a 2019 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine which looked at a group of people who spent 14 months living and working in a remote area in Antarctica. Researchers had scanned the individuals brains before and after the trip. What they found was astounding: every single one of those 14 individuals brains had shrunk after their time in isolation. God said what He meant and meant what He said when He inspired Solomon to write, “two are better than one.” We were made to be in community with one another.
This might not sound deeply spiritual, and yet I would like to propose that friendship and relationships are far more spiritual then most of us think! Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.” So, the goal cannot simply be to find a friend. We have to find a good friend! Proverbs 12:26 says, “the righteous choose their friends carefully.” It has been said that we are all in the process of becoming like the 5 people that we are closest with. So, let me ask you: if you were to look at your 5 closest friends, are you excited about the thought of becoming more like them? If not... perhaps it’s time to get some new friends. Some friends who will walk with you when you’re needing wisdom; some friends who will pray with you when you need a miracle; some friends who will pick you up when you fall, and wish to see you restored (rather than tossed to the side).
I believe our spiritually enemy, satan, is constantly seeking to find people who are living lives in isolation. When people are isolated, they are more vulnerable and susceptible to temptations and spiritual attacks. What’s the point of all this? Go find a friend! But not just any friend... find a friend who will stick closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Our God has given us the gift of His Church to provide us with this precise kind of community — brothers and sisters in Christ — who can be a friend to you in a time of need. So in order to find a good friend... find a good church! And who knows... perhaps you’ll find someone who needs you to be their friend in a time of need as well.