Don't Go It Alone in 2011

Brotherhood. The dictionary defines it as; an organization of men who are united for a common purpose. I like to think of it as my life line to sanity. Many of you understood what I just said; others of you will either get it later, or will remain clueless. I hope however, that after you read this, the cluelessness will be gone.

God never intended any of us to walk this life alone. He designed us to need others, after all if He didn’t then why did He say that it was not good for man to be alone? In the story of creation in Genesis, everything He had said up to that point was good, and His declaration about man was that he was very good. Yet just a few Scriptures later He says that it is “not good” for man to be alone.

This however is not what the world and its system would try to tell us. I think of the song by Simon and Garfunkel I Am a Rock. Check out the lyrics to it:

A winter's day in a deep and dark December; I am alone, gazing from my window to the streets below on a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. I am a rock, I am an island. I've built walls, a fortress deep and mighty, that none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. I am a rock, I am an island.

Don't talk of love, but I've heard the words before; it's sleeping in my memory. I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. If I never loved I never would have cried. I am a rock, I am an island.

I have my books and my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain; and an island never cries.

This song paints a poignant picture of a lonely person no doubt, but the saddest part is that it is a self-imposed loneliness. God never intended for us to be alone, even in prison the worst place to be put is solitary confinement. Men in solitary confinement for long periods of times eventually go crazy.

So I wonder why it is that men tend to move towards this going it alone attitude? What is it inside of us that makes us want to be alone, to be isolated from others and to be our own man so to speak? I believe that it is fear. Fear of being found out, fear that we will not measure up somehow to what people and society expect of us, which can I say right here is a trap that we should avoid at all costs.

I know this fear, I have lived it. It is a crushing weight that we allow to hold us down and keep us from forming any real relationships that could in fact help us. When I said earlier that brotherhood is my life line to sanity, I meant just that. I have men in my life that I can go to when things get hard. These men are not just casual friends either, they are men that can and will tell me the hard things that I need to hear from time to time.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 27:17; ”Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This Scripture speaks to me of that fact that I need to have godly men in my life that not only have their interests at heart, but mine as well. Having men that will tell me the truth, even if it hurts, is one of the most valuable assets in my life.

Listen we all have struggles, I don’t care how saved you are. Rough times come to us all, and if we choose to go it alone, the enemy will destroy us. One of the worst things I’ve seen in Christianity is this thing of thinking that because we are Word people and are filled with the Holy Spirit then that’s all we need to make it in life. And while we need both God’s Word and His Spirit, we also need people to walk with us.

Don’t listen to the lie that you can do this on your own, you can’t. Find good, godly men to walk with you in your life. Men you can trust with your heart, and the things that you carry in it. The Bible tells us to be a friend, and we’ll have friends. Reach out to those men around you and become their friend, help them with their burdens, and it won’t be too long and they will begin to help you with yours.

Remember, we were never created to be alone, we need people and they need us. Get out there and do some good today and let’s whip something for the Kingdom of God!