Ecclesiastis 4:9-12-“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
‘Alone’, ‘lonely’, ‘loneliness’ are all terms we humans use to describe ‘one’. We are not meant to be one as individuals. Let’s take a deeper look at this. Whatever we do has an impact on another – more than one, a group, community or society. Our job brings us income and maybe satisfaction of completing something. It helps our team, company, manager, achieve their goals. It impacts customers and others, maybe even globally.
When God created us, He made us for His pleasure. Although He knew our tomorrows and timelines and all that was to happen, He still preferred company of humans to socialize. We were meant to be social beings. So after creating Adam, God didn’t stop there. He created Eve to be a helpmeet and partner for Adam. So Adam was meant to labour and Eve to be his helpmeet.
The scripture says that labour gets a reward or result when worked by more than one. Why is this true? When one is low, or feels tired and falls short of their work, others can pitch in to help with the work or to motivate them back to good work. If the same situation occurs to a lonely person with no social skills, he will be totally alone and dejected when he falls. If someone attacks or instigates a team, a group or even two friends, the team/group or duo will withstand him. “…a threefold cord is not quickly broken”. This is referred to in the Bible in more than one instance because this kind of cord is supposed to stand strong in face of stress. When we are social, it means we care about someone else or some others – be it family, friends, colleagues etc. We get satisfaction with caring for and working hard for people who we care about. It is better than the life of a miser who toils only for himself. With a group or society, we can be optimistic and sure of quicker success and safety than going about things alone.
We believers are called ‘the Church’ as a collective term. We fellowship together conversing about the love of Christ or singing His praises. We are meant to help each another through encouraging one another and friendly reproach. We must improve our opportunities to commune because where two or more are gathered in His name, Christ will be in their midst as promised in the Bible. Also, when two are closely joined in holy love and fellowship (like in marriage), Christ will by his Spirit come to them; then there is a threefold cord. Let’s get united in, through, and for Christ Jesus.
