DAY 2

LONELINESS IS DEADLY

Text: Gen. 2:18-20

Memory:

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Gen.2:18)

“Loneliness is a feeling of separation, isolation, or distance in human relations.”

When God created Adam, it was a perfect environment with all that he desired; plants, animals and a peaceful environment. However, God was not satisfied mas Adam was alone. According to God, it was not good for him to be alone. In other words, loneliness is not in the will of God for man. Fellowship is therefore important for man. Even God Himself desires our fellowship; He would come down to Adam in the garden to have fellowship with him (Gen.3:18).

Often, when your spouse offends you, and you threaten divorce, it is probably because you have not really thought about the implications of loneliness on your life and your health. If you ask divorcees, they are very likely to tell you that it is not easy for either a man or a woman to be alone. Remember also that loneliness may also be experienced even while you are still together with your spouse if you allow offenses to linger.

The following are some of the negative impacts of loneliness on physical and mental health of individuals:

* Loneliness can affect the brain, just like physical pain – it is one of the major causes of mental diseases.

* Loneliness increases the risk of dementia – a brain disease that affects reasoning and memory, and gradually affects your daily functioning.

* Loneliness increases the risk of heart disease – lonely people are susceptible to long-term inflammation and damage to tissues and blood vessels of the heart, thereby increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

* Loneliness reduces life expectancy – studies show that people who live alone are more likely to die early through stroke, heart attacks or other complications than those who live with others.

* Loneliness causes sleeping disorders – it has been seen that lonely individuals experience more trouble with sleep than others.

If you know that God values relationships, thereby creating marriage so that you will not be alone, and that loneliness is not good for your health, how are you treating your relationship with the significant people in your life i.e. your spouse and children? Do you value the relationship between you and them? What will your wife/husband and children miss you for if you are not around?

Discussion Points With Your Spouse

• Loneliness is especially common during old age but the seeds are planted earlier in marriage. What are the steps which you feel you should take now in your relationship with your wife in order to avoid loneliness in your old age?

PRAYER

My father and my God, help me to nurture my marriage in a way that will prevent loneliness at any point in my life in Jesus’ name.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

THE SEED OF WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL BE LONELY DURING OLD AGE IS PLANTED MUCH EARLIER IN THE LIFE OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP. EXAMINE WHAT YOU ARE PLANTING NOW. 

Dr. Mike Oluniyi.