Tuesday 31st January
Read Genesis 2:18-20
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.” (NIVUK)
Creation is ‘good’ and ‘very good’ right up until this statement by our Creator. It is ‘not good’ for man to be alone (v18a). One of the fruits of the Enlightenment is the rise of radical individualism. There are consequences to a commitment to individual human ‘rights’. Over time it has slowly eroded community and family and placed our own happiness at the centre.
Sociologists have observed that Japanese society is a picture of the future of Western society. It has one of the oldest demographics in the world and, with limited immigration, will only get older. But one of the more concerning trends is the rise of single-person households. Over 40% of households in Japan only have one occupant, resulting in an epidemic of loneliness. Japan is the first country in the world to have a Minister for Loneliness. Is that our future too? The fruit of Enlightenment thinking has turned out more bitter than expected.
God’s observation, at the very beginning, remains as true now as it was then. ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’. Whilst the context of Genesis 2 speaks to relationships between men and women, that humanity is made for community is clear. The community of believers Jesus brought together is the antidote to radical individualism.
Is there anyone you can reach out to today that may be lonely? Has it been too long since you spoke to family? Can you invite anyone to join the community of believers?
