Isolation Sounds So Good and Other Lies

Proverbs 18:1 "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; 

he breaks out against all sound judgment."

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of solitude verses isolation lately so reading this verse got my mind going. My ESV Study Bible had a helpful note that said, 

"Prov. 18:1 Whoever isolates himself: translates a Hebrew word that refers to someone who is either reclusive or divisive. Either way, antisocial tendencies seem to be implied."

Being the nerd I am, I decided to look up the word and see what it means. The Hebrew word is "פָּרַד" (Strong's H6504)  (pronounced: pä•rad) and it means to divide or separate. I'm done with the nerdy stuff now and moving onto the why I'm writing this.

I've had an intense desire to be away lately. Many days hiding in a cave sounds like a perfect solution to life. To be clear in these moments I'm not seeking solitude, I'm seeking isolation, I'm seeking myself and myself alone. It's not a desire to go and recharge, it's a desire to run and hide, to quit, to give up. Even writing that makes me want to punch myself in the nose. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE giving up! Yet for some reason lately, I've been willing to give up and hide. 

So why do I want to run away so bad? Because I never do! Over the past few years I've become increasingly poor at taking times of solitude. I fail to do as Jesus did (Luke 5:16) and withdraw from the constant commotion of life and pray. Because I'm not taking healthy breaks my sinful heart desires an unhealthy break. It wants one devoid of community. The truth is I would be miserable without my community!

I live my life trapped in the business of life. I'm in a suburb but it's much more urban than I'd like. My phone pushes my email to me from 4 different accounts and I check it at ever vibration, phantom vibration and random moment I think I'm so important I need to. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram rarely go long without being checked in on and I rarely let calls or texts go unanswered (unless I just want to annoy someone). I need to build in a few hours a week and one day a month to completely unplug, no technology, no chatter, just me, my Bible and Jesus.

This blog was poorly titled because I only addressed one lie but hey I only got a couple hours of sleep. There are plenty of other lies I believe I live out on a daily basis. Keep reading my blog and I'm sure you'll see more. Hopefully as I sleep more the quality of my writing will increase as well. This particular is a pre-coffee, no sleep look at how I really feel. Get some coffee in me and I'll get a bit more clever.