The unfortunate privatization of our lives

God said it first so we know it must be true. But as Westerners we somehow think we’re exempt. He said, “It is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).

So he created Eve for Adam, and gave the two of them a command, “Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth…” (Gen. 1:28). Sounds like the Lord is saying, “It is not good for the two of you to be alone.”

So families developed, and then nations. More and more people needing to find ways to work together, live together, be together. Most of the world still understands this truth. But not those in western civilization. For some reason, we want to be left alone…

Paul Tripp captured the unfortunate privatization of our lives in poetry.  Do his words describe the world in which you aspire to live? Have you ever asked yourself why?

Privacy fence
no sidewalks
attached garage
personal entertainment center
frenetic schedule
half-acre plot
individualized
living.
Lie of autonomy
deceit of self-sufficiency
delusion of self-righteousness
buy your way out of
need.
Endless amusement
pushes reality out of the way.
never known
never knowing
never stop beyond what is
comfortable
pleasurable
enjoyable
predictable
safe.
Door closed silence,
shrunken community
of me and mine.
Thinking I can do
what I was never designed
to do,
live
all by myself.

Paul Tripp in Broken Down House,  p. 148