It Is Not Good to Be Alone

We are created for community. God declared, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). We are not designed for isolation, self-sufficiency, or survival alone. The first believers understood this well. In Acts 2:42-47, the new believers gathered together, shared their lives, broke bread, prayed, worshiped, and cared for one another. It is a beautiful picture of Christian community. Yet, by Acts 6, complaints had arisen because some widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. In Corinth, Paul had to correct a church whose members had turned the Lord’s Supper into an occasion for selfishness and division.

That is part of our sin nature. We are often inclined toward survival, looking out for number one. We have an “I” problem. In the garden, Eve disobeyed God because she desired to be like Him. Isaiah 14:12–14 tells of Lucifer’s desire to ascend and be “like the Most High.” Sin bends the heart inward. It teaches us to protect ourselves, promote ourselves, and place ourselves at the center. 

But the Holy Spirit moves us beyond that. Christian community is more than a gathering of people in the same room. It is a shared life shaped by service, humility, and mutual care. The New Testament’s many “one another” commands make this clear. We are told to love one another, serve one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, and care for one another. These commands assume that the Christian life cannot be lived alone. Faith may be personal, but it is never private.

True community generates something greater than the sum of its parts. It brings encouragement, increases effectiveness, and opens the door to new ideas and shared strength. It creates synergy. Detroit became the center of the American automobile industry because manufacturers, suppliers, workers, designers, and competitors gathered in close proximity. Silicon Valley became a center of technological innovation for similar reasons. When people with shared purpose, skill, energy, and imagination work near one another, things happen that would not happen in isolation.

The Baptist Temple campus has experienced remarkable seasons of community. When Jubilee Academy was located on campus, the partnership became more than a rental arrangement. Middle school students helped distribute food to the community, teachers helped on campus projects, and children sang at special events. One year, Vacation Bible School brought together the five churches that meet on the campus, refugee children from Africa, a mission team from the Baptist University of the Américas, and lots of neighborhood kids. 

That same spirit of community is also reflected in the many volunteers who first came to us for services. They felt welcomed and accepted, becoming part of the team and building self-esteem through serving others. Our volunteers reflect remarkable diversity in age, race, ethnicity, and economic background.

That spirit continues in other ways. From the Early Learning Center to Funeral Caring, USA our family of churches and service providers bring cradle-to-grave care to our community. Together we create a hub that magnifies our ability to meet the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbors while sharing expenses and reducing needless duplication of services.

Community is part of God’s design. It corrects our selfishness, enlarges our vision, strengthens our work.

Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

 If either of them falls down,

 one can help the other up.

 But pity anyone who falls

 and has no one to help them up.

 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

 But how can one keep warm alone?

 Though one may be overpowered,

 two can defend themselves.

 A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 Ecclesiastes 4:9-12