“Desperate For Companionship”
A 29-year-old was arrested a few weeks ago at a New Jersey high school. This person pretended to be a teenager in order to be enrolled and do things the other students did. It was four days later that the ruse was discovered and the arrest was made.
Surely this man was seeking something very sinister, right? First, understand that this was not a man, but a woman. Second, in an appearance in court earlier this week, the motivation for her pretense was stated to be loneliness, and she is asking for a pretrial intervention program so she might avoid harsher punishment when the case is tried. Her attorney claims she was simply lonely, and wanted to return to her “glory days” of high school.
I don’t know how genuine this woman’s defense is, but I am convinced there are a lot of people in our world who are desperate for companionship. Loneliness is a battle that many fight, but how many of those eventually find relief? Often people find ways to temporarily escape that darkness through substance abuse, binging on TV or video games, or other unhealthy pursuits. Their underlying problem of feeling alone is not addressed, however.
Loneliness is not a new phenomenon. In Psalm 142:4 David wrote this: “Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul.” Was that truly the case with David – no one cared about him? Or did he merely feel that way? Either way, it is depressing to feel isolated and neglected.
The Prodigal Son was in a more challenging situation: He was living in a distant land and he had burned through all of his resources. He took a lowly job feeding pigs and even considered eating their food because “no one gave him anything” (Luke 15:15). Lonely? Obviously he was.
Paul learned a powerful lesson in a time of great loneliness: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. … But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me …” (2 Timothy 4:16,17). We don’t know if Paul was in solitary confinement at that time, a condition intended to isolate people. But even in such drastic conditions the Lord is not stopped. He has vowed to always be with His people, no matter what (see Hebrews 13:5,6). Prison bars can’t stop the Lord.
There’s another positive way to battle loneliness; it’s called “fellowship”, and it’s given to all followers of Jesus Christ. The first Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Two verses later we read, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44).
“Together” is a better condition than “alone”. If you’re already a Christian, you should seek out fellowship with your family in Christ rather than passively giving in to loneliness. If you’re not a Christian, we’d love to talk with you about how simple it is to enter the family of Christ. You won’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not; Christ welcomes all who come to Him “Just as I am”.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2023, Timothy D. Hall
