Forever Alone Doesn't Have to Be

Poor Forever Alone Guy. He's probably the saddest meme ever made. Forever Alone is a poorly drawn and unpleasant looking face, sometimes with tears on his cheeks. He's put into situations or conversations where he has no friends, no relationships, and no one seems to care or notice him. The thing with FA is that while a lot of the situations are funny in how extreme they are, they can often be close to our real lives, or at least close enough to relate.

We are a social species. We are designed (intelligently designed) to need each other. We have differences to make up for each others weaknesses. In the case of Forever Alone, some problems can arise as he tries to cope. What warning signs can we get from this popular meme?  Feel free to chuckle at these.  They are fiction and written for humor (not by me, these all happen to be from quickmeme.com). The point of these blogs is to laugh but also take something away from the humor to draw us closer together, and ultimately, closer to God.

Forever OK With Being Alone

One way some try to deal with loneliness is to try and convince yourself that you like it that way. It's certainly not fears of rejection or abandonment keeping them from being social, they just prefer to be alone.  The danger here long term is that deluding yourself like this can sometimes work too well, and you'll start avoiding others even when the opportunity is there to reach out.  We need to be a blessing to others, and in turn be blessed by them.  There's Biblical reference to back this up.

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 2:1-5 (ESV)

Forever Looking to Fill the Void

Eventually the loneliness will break through the delusion, and the lonely will turn to stuff to try and fill that hole.  Ecclesiastes 6:7 says "All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied." This is why people become obsessed with having things. No matter how many square pegs you get, they weren't designed to fit in the round hole made for personal relationships.

Forever Out of Touch With Reality

Trying to cope with being alone and the discontent that comes with it, a fantasy life can start to develop around how the person would wish to act or be viewed by others. Fantasizing about what you would do or say is pretty innocent in and of itself. I'm sure how I envision my ability to be charming and romantic is very different from how my wife would describe the reality. The trouble comes from living too much in the fantasy.  That girl you like? Chances are she's not going to be swooning over everything you say. You probably aren't going to be MVP every game if you try out for the team. Does that mean don't talk to the girl or go out for the team? Of course not, you should do both, but expecting the fantasy will just set you up to be disappointed even in a positive result.  People might not think you're the greatest thing ever or be swept off their feet, but they might still like you. You might not be the best player, but you can support the ones that are and do your best when it's your chance. I think the biggest reason people aren't happy with their relationships is because the reality isn't living up to the fantasy they had going in.  Hate to break it to you, but it never will, and you, or I should say we, need to start appreciating the friendships we have.

Forever Acting the Fool

You all know who I'm talking about. Adults that act like little kids and act out, either by being goofy or being mean, in order to get attention. Even if it's people yelling at them, at least it's AT them. All this accomplishes is to widen the gap between the individual and the group further and further.

Still with me, even after walls of text and Forever Alone's ugly mug over and over? Good, cause now comes the good part. How does being a Christian help avoid being forever alone? Surely there are lonely Christians.

Lonely, But Never Alone

When we accept the grace of God and forgiveness for our sins, given to us through the death of Jesus on the cross and resurrection three days later, we are promised the help of the Holy Spirit.  There's no schedule for when God will be with us. We don't need an appointment. He's there, with us, all the time. It get's better. He's a perfect friend. He forgives us when we screw up with Him. He loves all your little personality quirks that you're worried will annoy people.  And why wouldn't He? He put them there after all. I'm going to just back this up with a bunch of verses, but there's an important point to make first, and that's for anyone reading that's not a Christian. God is there with you, too. Right now. He's offering that same forgiveness and perfect friendship that you're trying to fill with either imperfect friendships or all sorts of Forever Alone type things. Turn to Him today and see what He's been trying to show you.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:35-39 (ESV)

So what does all this have to do with Forever Alone? Pretty simple really. When we have God backing us up 100% we can rest on that assurance, and let all the worries, nerves, and anxiety melt away. Use His friendship to you as an example to go out there and let the world see the real you. If you're living the life God wants then you're being an example for others to find Him too, and He'll lead you to healthy relationships if you trust Him and give Him time. My suggestion is to start with finding a good church, emphasis on good, because they aren't always. Here's a couple more that I just think are funny. Thanks for reading and I pray that you all find friendship with God and become Never Alone.