Are You Alone With Loneliness?

Are you making an ally with loneliness?

Many of us are walking through this life logged and clogged into social media accounts where we can be part of a community at the click of a button. Our Instagram page is followed by thousands, and we have a billion friends on Facebook. At the same time, this constant competitive nature that these mediums exude create a shallow sense of relationship building and true fellowship with one another where loneliness is easily camouflaged. We often show our “best” on these types of websites which disconnects us with reality and what many of us may actually be going through. In order to see people on a deeper level, we must become active participants in the lives of our friends to truly experience the joy of friendship and continue to keep our motives pure. As Proverbs 27: 9 says,

“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”

Let’s maintain the people in our lives by living the way Jesus did and be the love He told us to be.

There are a few things that can easily taint a well-developed friendship with two main categories that take the cake: miscommunication, and offence. It may not be clearly apparent, but miscommunication and misinterpretation are the active players in ruining a good friendship. This often allows us to create a hypothetical situation in our mind that we convince ourselves as fact, when in reality has no logic and can be expressed to result a false conclusion.

Another doozy is, offence. That’s right, it’s the bitter resentment we have towards people that create walls and separate us from one another. Offence has a funny capability of latching on for weeks, and sometimes years if we are not quick to recognize it and peel it off ourselves.

At the end of the day, friendships or any type of relationship for that matter are hard. They require work and a sense of accountability for ourselves and one another. Sometimes, friendships don’t last forever. It’s just a fact of life. This however does not give us the excuse to become secluded in self-righteousness or sulk in despair. It’s a chance to get back up and connect with the people who will truly go before you and will speak life in your situations. The Bible says,

“There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother,” (Proverbs 18:24).

Life is meant to be spent in fellowship and in communion with others as it makes us happy and healthier- its human nature and the way we were created by our Creator. Take a break from the screen and connect with someone face to face. In order for a friendship to be fully sustained and maintained, it must be planted in love and well nurtured through time. After all, love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

And so, we leave you with this word,

“Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).