The Danger of Isolation

This article was originally posted in the August 2025 GWFW Newsletter.

--

In my service to veterans through God’s Word for Warriors, I never cease to be amazed at the number of service men and women who turn inward in times of trouble, who seek to isolate themselves from others. This, in spite of God’s clear statement at the beginning of the Genesis story: “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

“Emily climbed the tower of Riverside Church and looked out, turning around time after time like a dog unable to find a spot. Across the Hudson, the high rises of New Jersey lurked behind a veil of smog. Southward stretched the apartment building of Riverside Drive, in their decaying, multi-windowed elegance. Inland lay brick row houses and redevelopment projects. But even if she could have looked in every direction at once, the city was too vast to take in….It was composed of hundreds of self-contained worlds. Getting a fix on it was like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with pieces from many different puzzles. From the Castle Tree (a tree which Emily and her friends climbed in their childhood in Newland, TN) you could take in all Newland at once. Most everyone you saw, you already knew. You knew what church they went to, and which dentist cleaned their teeth. You knew which shop the clothes they were wearing came from and how much they cost. You knew which movie they had seen last weekend and with whom. You knew whose their third cousin once removed they were, and which three houses in town their family had previously occupied. And they knew all those things about you. You could sit on the beach at a TVA lake with the ageless cliffs and perennial falls behind you, and the billions of receding stars overhead – and know exactly where you sit. Here in New York, she didn’t have a clue….She put her head in her hands and cried” (unknown).

When facing the temptation to withdraw into isolation, we can choose to turn that isolation into a time of action and purpose. God calls us to ask what we can do with our isolated circumstances. Perhaps it’s a time to serve our neighbors, to seek a moment to create, or a chance to grow in our faith. We can embark on a new journey of self-discovery and act upon the call of our heart. Jesus says, “…who ever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:20b-28).

Let me remind you of something you probably already know: Generally, who are the most dislocated and emotionally unsteady people in society? Not the poor or marginalized. Rather, are they not the softly situated, the comfortably positioned, those who have yet to discover something outside themselves; something that takes attention off self?

There are so many opportunities and places in our world today that are worthwhile with which we can become involved and serve. We can stand for honesty in business and politics; decency in morality and ethical living; the sacrifice of time and money for others. All to often we accept the status quo and grimly plod along, thinking nothing will change, allowing negative situations to drive us away from life-giving service to others. James Whistler, the well-know American artist, was once asked for advice by a friend hanging a new, expensive, and beautiful masterpiece. He could not make the painting fit the room. Whistler’s advice? “With a masterpiece like that, you are beginning at the wrong end. You can’t make the painting fit the room. You have to make the room fit the painting.”

We are God-created beings, made in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 8). We are to be the enlightening and leavening influence in the world (Matthew 5:14-16). Let us serve, reflecting the masterful life of Christ and fit the world to His life, not fit Christ to our world. Therein lies our purpose and way to fulness of life.