Quarantine Pitfalls: Social Isolation

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

— Genesis 1:18

Humans are social creatures who literally cannot begin or continue to exist without varying levels of community around us. Our inclusion into larger groups is fundamental to our nature and integral to the development of our individual identities. The first human, it should be noted, realized that he did not have companionship and community for himself in the way that the other creatures did; he was isolated.

The first “not good” thing

After creating the man, God does something in Scripture that hadn’t happened before: He says that something is “not good.“ In this case, it is man being alone, without community or companionship. God then creates woman from man and gives the two to each other. They recognize their connection and are perfectly united, both with God and with each other. This connection is articulated in powerfully intimate language that lasts until the first humans disobey God’s commands and reap the consequences of their actions. 

The community they had (on multiple levels) is disrupted, distorted, and destroyed. Isolation--that thing the first man experienced when he was alone--came back, but it was no longer a matter of numbers and pairings; it had to do with how relationships would need to work. The first humans and all their descendants would now have to contend with some level of isolation, meaning that in order to have connection or fellowship with others, there would have to be new and at times very difficult or painful efforts to establish connections with others.

More effort required

Having relationships and connections that “fall into place” by way of proximity, routine, and preferences can enable the temptation towards isolation and can creep into thoughts and practices. Without our normal cues and opportunities to “be social”, “be busy”, or “be spiritual”, the potential to disconnect from others is very real, even though it may be so subtle that we don’t notice it at first. 

The dangers of isolation can range from forgetting social cues and outside events to feelings of frustration, depression, and anxiety that “normal” circumstances could address with instant access to fellowship. When community is ready-made for us by way of church services, school functions, group gatherings and such, we have a buffet from which we can choose the type and frequency of socialization that suits our individual levels of comfort. In today’s current social limitations affecting the availability of any engagement outside of our own minds and routine surroundings, though, we often discover the need to exercise additional effort to avoid isolation and ensure our socialization “muscles” don’t weaken or atrophy. 

Fight like a bee

In God’s good design for humanity as social creatures made in His image, it is isolation that is an anomalous, invading, and predatory presence. It separates us from fellowship and the varied experiences of important, life-giving connections that our Creator has given to us. How then, do we defend against it?

I’m sure some of you have heard stories about how Asian giant hornets have been spotted in areas of North America. These bugs (aka “murder hornets”) are frightful to read about; they tend to be big, aggressive, and their venom is dangerous. Against individual creatures or groups of potential prey that don’t have effective defenses, these hornets often have lots of advantages. I don’t share this to sensationalize the “next big danger” trending on social media, but to illustrate some interesting points about isolation and community. 

You see, as terrifying as the Asian giant hornets are, the kinds of bees that live near these predators defend themselves from invading hornets by collectively piling on the larger invader and vibrating their wings like they do during cold weather times. This produces temperatures that the bees can tolerate but the hornet can’t. Thus, the would-be predator is dispatched by the combined efforts of smaller, less-lethal bugs, that literally overwhelm it with the activity and energy from their community.

The power of togetherness

Although this is instinctive on the parts of the bees, I hope the illustration is clear for those who seek to follow Christ as part of His body, the Church. While we exist as individuals, the power given to us as part of a sanctified community is readily accessible and we are encouraged to be united to and for each other as members of the same body. 

While isolation can lead to both alienation and harmful self-focus, the fellowship we have both with Christ and through Him is our everlasting place of security, connection, identity, and affirmation. Let us continue to draw close to Him, away from our places of isolation. As we continue to imitate Christ, let’s also be diligent, imaginative, and intentional in how we reach out to each other and model community to the world around us.