ISOLATION – THE DEVIL’S KRYPTONITE

Isolation is the bitter fruit from the Fall of man in Genesis 3. I do not mean the isolation that we can sometimes feel from others, though this is a piece of it. The isolation I speak of is the act of individuals to intentionally live-in isolation of others.

This is sometimes couched in phrases like: "I am not a people person", "I like my space" or some version of those phrases. What is remarkable is that those who feel this way will often attribute their character to God, saying that God has made them introverted and inclined to isolation. The reality is that nothing could be farther from the truth.

Isolation and the desire to be disconnected from others must be seen as what it is: the fruit of the fall. Isolation is the intentional discipline and practice of not being known. Those who are given to living in isolation are people who want relationships, but on their terms and at their level. They want to have people around them, but not be known - truly and intimately - by anyone of them. We have to fight against this if we tend towards isolation. It is neither safe nor healthy.

There is another issue with living in isolation that the enemy will not show you. Think about this with me. The first act of isolation not only happened in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, but it was Adam's behavior towards God! When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord the first thing they did was to hide. Or another way to say it is that they isolated themselves from God. This is the first act of isolation and it is man hiding from the Lord.

There is a principle of literary interpretation known as the Principle of first mention. This states that whenever you see an idea, concept, etc., for the first time in a work it is that context that should dictate how you understand the idea, concept, etc. In other words, the first time we see the act of isolation in the Bible is when Adam and Eve hid from God and, therefore, that is how we should see and understand the meaning and act of isolation.

Here is the deceitful reality of isolation. It is not simply a desire to not be known by others, but it is the faulty belief that one can know God and be unknown by Him. Let me make this a bit clearer. People who live isolated lives want relationships they just don't want to be transparent to anyone. What they cannot see is that isolation impacts their relationship with the Lord.

They want God but they hide from Him. They want the relationship with Him that provides joy, peace, help and hope but, in hiding from God, they are not open with Him about their unhappiness, struggles or their needs. Therefore, people who live in isolation from others are, in effect, people who live in isolation from the Lord. Our unwillingness to be known is the fruit that is impairing our intimacy with the Lord.

If you struggle with intimacy with the Lord check your intimacy with others, first. There are all kinds of clues about our relationship with the Lord in our relationships with others. If I don't want a person to know me out of concern of sharing too much and being too vulnerable how much more would I be inclined to isolate myself from the Lord since knows me truly and fully?

Isolation is the Devil's kryptonite to the superpower God has given us called relationships. We will take this up in tomorrow's devotion.