CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Loneliness is newer concept.
In Jesus’ time, no one could live alone. We were simply too interdependent on each other in biblical times. You needed members of your family or extended family to provide food and shelter and safety. No one person could provide the necessities of life for themselves. If you were a widow or an orphan or an adult child, you needed to be a member of a larger group or tribe, or you’d die.
Consider how different that is today. 28% of all Americans live alone. That’s 36-million households that consist of only one person. Once people reach their 70s, 46% live by themselves.
I understand. Kids grow up and move away. Our divorce rate is high, and some never re-marry or co-habitate. People who live in nursing homes are often alone.
And yet, even people who decide they’re happier by themselves still need some level of human contact. And that need is felt most during the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I know several people in my neighborhood who live alone. And I’ve invited some of them to my table for the holidays. Who knows, I could be them at some point in my life. I’ve been divorced for 14 years, and I haven’t remarried. My relatives live in other parts of the country. I don’t know how far and wide my own children will branch out.
Will there be times that I’ll spend Thanksgiving or Christmas alone?
Now, I’ve never been someone who minded being alone. But, then again, whether to be social or be alone has always been something I’ve chosen. That’s different than being alone because you don’t have anyone to be with. And being alone on an ordinary Thursday night in August is different than being alone for the holidays.
If you find yourself alone, call upon God. Immanuel means God with us. We are never truly alone.
And if you know someone who is alone, reach out to them. The smallest gesture from you could mean a great deal to them.
Chris Conley
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