Being in isolation #4 Man’s greediness, slackness, internet, friends and social contacts

We are all weak human beings, damaged by the given string of DNA from our ancestors in the line of Adam and Eve. By their own choice they came to have knowledge of Good and Evil. We too are caught by that knowledge but also by our willingness to know more and to have more. That greed of want can tamper the isolated person also, most certainly when he sees all those around him who seem to have a better and much easier life. No one able to escape the pressures of life, it is easy to go for the human default to take the easy road. When we finally get a few moments to relax, staying at home, vegetating in front of the TV or mindlessly roaming the Internet all seem like better choices than making the effort to engage others or to set our mind to the more spiritual things.

Self-satisfied a person easily can be going with all those around him who have plenty of social activities and seem to have lots of fun with worldly activities. Not having said that such worldly activities would be wrong. The opposite, a believer may not isolate himself from those around him who do not believe in God or who have another faith. Social activities are the ideal occasion to come to talk to others, to get to know them better, but also to get yourself and your faith been better known by the others.

Today more people are on the internet thinking they have lots of friends. Ironically, our social media culture, having us in touch with more people than ever, causes many more, to feel lonely. We can see that today less people do have real friends and that there is much less social contact than ever before. Many use the social media to make them look more important and better than they really are. Facebook in particular is the boasting site in major key bringing lots of people in a minor mood. Social media brings a lot of people less connected than ever though they mail e email, tweet and Facebook a lot, they do not go deep into matters and spend less and less time face to face with others.

Maybe the reason we email, tweet and Facebook is because we can stay connected without the real effort of staying connected.

Naturally such modern assets can be very handy to have contact with others. But it also brings a couch culture, worse than television ever did. For many it might seem easier to stay at home, comfortable where nobody can see how they really live or what they really do. Though by such isolation which they choose themselves or which they bring over themselves they shall see in the long-term that will come at a high cost.

Every choice has a cost. Community takes more up front, but the effort pays for itself. Isolation takes less up front, but you wind up paying a steep price.

But in our world we do also have the involuntary isolation, there where lovers of God want to be in contact with other lovers of God, but cannot find enough people around them to meet or to have regular face to face conversations and nice activities where their faith and life can be shared with each other.

A demographic isolation is what comes not only to the Belgian Christadelphians but to many of this faith group because there are just not enough Christadelphians all over the world. That is a fact we do have to live with.

Preceding article

Being in isolation #1 Baptists making an important choice

Being in isolation #2 Looking at the word “Isolation”

Being in isolation #3 Gathering and Sharing

The Big Conversation