I’m good at solitude. I’ve never been unhappy alone. But I remember times when being alone felt unhealthy and I had to go be with people. When solitude turns into isolation, it’s time to find some fellowship.
We need solitude. We need quiet and “white space” in our lives. But more as a retreat—you get away from people, spend time with God the Father, the way Jesus did when He prayed—then you return to people.
Isolation is different. Isolation is when you work at being alone to the point that you have excluded others from your life. Have you seen anyone isolate themselves? Have you watched a friend pull away from everyone and get lost “inside their own head”? There’s something unhealthy about that, something sinister—and it leads to bad ideas and bad choices.
For example, most of us hear a variety of voices in our thoughts—some good, some bad. And when we isolate ourselves, we let the bad voices take control. After all, it was the unhealthy voice that convinced you to negatively isolate yourself in the first place. You were listening to the wrong voices when you isolated yourself; it stands to reason you may continue to listen to the wrong voices until you snap out of it.
The worst part is, isolation can become chronic. The more often you isolate yourself, the fewer friends will be there for you when you finally return to “the land of the living.” People prone to isolation eventually burn ALL their bridges and end up with no friends, rendering isolation no longer a choice but a trap.
“One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires and rebels against all sound judgment” Proverbs 18:1.
Don’t isolate yourself. And warn your friends not to. Consider the VOICE translation:
“Whoever pulls away from others to focus solely on his own desires disregards any sense of sound judgment.”
God, make us sensitive to the difference between healthy solitude and unhealthy isolation. Bless our friendships and show us how to love people better every day.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 