cornerstone church
  • Home
  • About
    • Pastor
    • Elders
    • Deacons
    • Director of Women's Ministry
    • Membership >
      • Membership Covenant
    • Statement of Faith
    • Contact
  • Adult
    • Women's Ministries
    • Men's Ministries
  • Youth
    • Children's Ministries
    • Teen's Ministries
  • Missions
  • Resources
    • Bible Reading Plan
    • Calendar of Events
  • Sermons
  • Blogs
    • Blogs By Pastor Jeff Owen
    • enCOURAGEment for Women
BLOGS

enCOURAGEment for women

The Sin of Isolation

8/4/2016

 
​This is the blog that I don’t want to write and you don’t want to read.  Can we just be honest about that right up front?  Like bad medicine you need to take but only want to spit out.  The sweetness can only be tasted when the healing comes… but, oh how sweet the healing is when it does come.  So, take a deep breath with me, ladies, it’s time to swallow.

Introverted, anti-social, hermit, reserved, don’t like crowds, being shy, a wallflower, a loner.  I have used each of these terms to describe myself many times in my life (heck, the past week).  They are a handy excuse for my behavior and serve as a warning for people to stay back.  Like saying, “Please carefully remove yourself from my precious personal bubble.  Um, one more step back…aaand one more.  There, now we are far enough apart that we can be pleasant friends but not have to get caught up in any messy personal issues.”

I enjoy using the above terms if I must be honest (and I must)…and I know I’m not the only one.  If this blog caught your attention you are probably in a similar boat as me (not the same boat hence the issue).  You may be offended already that I have called it a…SIN.  I don’t like it either, but I’m not the boss and I don’t make the rules. 

A verse that came up in a women’s Bible study recently, and that just keeps slapping me in the face, is Proverbs18:1 which reads, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement.”  Did you feel that smack like I did?  Hear that clear element of selfishness in “seeks his own desire” and foolishness in “breaks out against all sound judgement”?

How can isolation be selfish?  When we distance ourselves from others we are not able to connect and display Christ to them.  We are not there to speak God’s words of encouragement to them.   Paul in his ministries lived with the people and worked with the people in order to win them to salvation, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22.  This is not possible if we are hidden away.

How is isolation foolish?  Our purpose for breathing is to glorify God through sharing the gospel and proclaiming his name to the nations. Hard to be effective in this calling when our noses are in a novel or we are “just not in the mood to deal with people”. Taking ourselves out of interaction with others is like taking ourselves out of the race and still expecting to win, pure foolishness.

So, ladies, let’s be big girls and call sin “sin” when the Bible calls it out.  No sense softening evil to make it comfy.  We don’t want it comfy.  We want sin as uncomfortable in our lives as putting on a wet swim suit covered in sand or like a mouth full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

Is taking time to be alone always sin?  My goodness no.  There are times of needed refueling and resting.  Time to get yourself away from the world to spend time alone with God (epic oxymoron when you think about it).  Jesus himself often moved away from the crowds that followed him, he also often got up early in the morning and found a solitary place to pray.  Time alone can be good, acceptable and beneficial when done for the proper reasons.

The motive is the crucial difference, the essence of whether the removing of yourself from others is a sin or a time of godly refueling.  Think carefully, what is causing you to want to shut the world out?  Is it fear of rejection, judgement, being socially inept, not wanting others to see the “real you”?  Is it laziness?  As painful as these can be, they are inadequate excuses.  We cannot hide behind our feelings.  Spend time studying who you are in Christ for your strength, looking at him not yourself.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7. 

So consider this a reminder to check your heart - is how you are living fulfilling what God has called you to?  If you are claimed by God, you contain a treasure beyond measure - step out and share it.  Multiply your joy in fellowship.  No more keeping others at arm’s length for fear of discomfort.  Decide not to be okay with selfish and foolish isolation, be disgusted by it; shed the suit and spit out the gravel.  Be bold and connect with others, dare to get messy and love people with the crazy love of Christ and… allow them to love you back. 
​
Praise God and wage spiritual war with the incredible act of engaging with others.

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adversity
    Anger
    Assurance
    Beauty
    Bible Study
    Biblical Womenhood
    Body Of Christ
    Children
    Christ Likeness
    Christ-Likeness
    Christmas
    Church
    Contentment
    Covenant
    Creation
    Death
    Depression
    Discipleship
    Easter
    Encouragement
    Endurance
    Evangelism
    Faith
    Forgiveness
    Giving
    Glory
    Gospel
    Happy
    Heaven
    Hell
    Holy
    Holy Spirit
    Homeschooling
    Hope
    Husband
    Jesus
    Joy
    Knowledge
    Love
    Marriage
    Missions
    Modesty
    Money
    Mother
    Obedience
    Prayer
    Preaching
    Purpose
    Relationship
    Resurrection
    Risk Taking
    Sanctification
    Satan
    Satisfaction
    Sin
    Singleness
    Sovereignty
    Spiritual Gifts
    Sufferring
    Thankful
    The Word Of God
    Time
    Treasure
    Trials
    Trust
    Wife
    Wives
    Worship

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
    • Pastor
    • Elders
    • Deacons
    • Director of Women's Ministry
    • Membership >
      • Membership Covenant
    • Statement of Faith
    • Contact
  • Adult
    • Women's Ministries
    • Men's Ministries
  • Youth
    • Children's Ministries
    • Teen's Ministries
  • Missions
  • Resources
    • Bible Reading Plan
    • Calendar of Events
  • Sermons
  • Blogs
    • Blogs By Pastor Jeff Owen
    • enCOURAGEment for Women