On Being Too Long Alone – Sunday, October 30, 1955
Often children are heard to say impatiently to parents: “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself I” And adults often say the same thing, in substance, to their families and friends.
Perhaps most of us are given to wondering at times why others worry about us. We know where we are. Why should anyone else worry?
But no one is ever entirely able to take care of himself under all circumstances. And it isn’t good for anyone, young or old, to be long out of touch with friends or loved ones.
It isn’t good for anyone to be too long alone. Of course, there are occasions when we want to be alone for a limited time, when we are weary and want to relax.
There are times when we want to be left alone to ponder our problems. Almost all men enjoy some solitude. But it isn’t good for anyone ever to be wholly unaccountable to anyone else. And it doesn’t matter how old or how able a person is, someone should always know where he is going and when he is expected to be back. It doesn’t matter how self-sufficient a person supposes himself to be, he should feel responsible to someone for his actions and activities.
In the first place, there is the question of safety. People who say that they are able to take care of themselves can’t always know whether they are or not. If everything goes as expected, they may be. But the unexpected often happens.
Anyone can become ill. Anyone can meet misfortune.
And we are never old enough to be sure that we are safe under all circumstances. But, besides the matter of safety, a man simply doesn’t do his best if someone else isn’t interested in him.
People need other people as a performer needs an audience. People need to know that other people are depending upon them, waiting for them, pulling with them. People need people who believe in them, trust them, and expect the best from them.
All of us do better when we know that there are others who expect us to do better. It was no mere empty utterance when the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.”1 We all need others. We all need close and understanding companionship.
We all need someone to confide in, someone to talk to. We all need to be somewhat responsible to someone else all the time, both to keep us at our best and in the interest of our own safety. It is not good, for young or old, to be too footloose, too unattached, to be too long alone. *
*Revised
1Genesis 2:18.
October 30, 1955
Broadcast Number 1,367