It is not good for man to be alone

Companionship is a hot topic in today's world where so much personal interaction is quite impersonal, often done over the Internet or via cell phone, with little to no personal contact.

People complain about this on many levels, believing mankind has lost many social skills due to this.

Interestingly enough, there is Biblical precedent for this mindset.

Genesis 2:18 And then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

It is, at least in this passage, the companionship aspect of life for which woman was created for man. Despite the social concentration on sexual relations, it was the idea of being alone that was problematic for man, and that is the aspect that was addressed.

Nor, despite an oft-repeated false teaching on the matter, are Christians to refuse friendship with people of the world. I Corinthians 5 explains this clearly.

While Christians are, in fact, ordered not to associate with "Christians" who are immoral, covetous, swindlers, and so forth, they are simultaneously told that not associating with such people who are not believers is specifically not what was intended.

This thought accords well with the actions of Jesus, in fact. He was oft criticized for associating with the sinners of His time, with the tax-gatherers in preference to the "religious leaders' of the day, namely the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Yet over and over the religious world will take passages like II Corinthians 6:14, take them out of context and teach false doctrines that Christians should have no form of contact with the unbelievers.

It was foolishness such as this that led to the ridiculous extremes expressed by many hermit monks in the middle ages.

It is insistence on looking only at what is on the persons mind at the moment instead of putting a passage in context with the rest of the Holy Writings that leads preachers and teachers of the Scripture to speak falsehood in the name of God.

Now, this is not to advocate that Christians should go forth and spend all or most of their time with the liars, cheats, drunks, profane, idolaters, or whatever the sins of the people might be to the exclusion of all else.

Quite the opposite. The reasons Jesus had for His associations were to bring the truth to them and give them an opportunity for repentance.

We who would be like Christ should therefore do likewise.

Do not seek solitude to the exclusion of contact with others, nor yet refuse to use your time as Christ would have you use it.

Have friendship first with God and His people, and make room also for those to whom you might bring the light.