Sharing Life Together

The Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

Genesis 2:18

The first thing clear from this passage is that woman was made to be man's companion. We know today that one of the most shattering emotions of which human beings are capable is that of loneliness. When God pronounced a sentence of not good upon man's condition, it was the interjection of the first negative element in the story of creation. Up to now everything had been pronounced good, and on the sixth day of creation God said that everything he had done was very good. But now we read that it was not good for man to be alone, indicating that it never was God's intention for man to be alone, that from the very beginning he intended to make two sexes in the making of man.

For a human to exist, whether man or woman, in loneliness there always is a shattering threat to the happiness and welfare of that individual. Loneliness is one of the greatest causes of suicide in this country, and it is undoubtedly the most widespread source of human misery in the world today. Yet it is a perfectly human experience. Each of us has felt at times the need for human companionship. God made us that way. We need one another. God knows that we need one another, and he provides others for us. It is clear from this passage that the chief, although not the sole, answer to the loneliness of man is the making of woman; man and woman together in marriage. One of the primary purposes of marriage is to provide companionship, a sharing of life together.

The second intent expressed here on the part of God was that woman should be a helper to man, someone to share not only his life as a companion but his work and responsibilities as well. This has been true from the very beginning of man's existence: men and women designed to work together. Perhaps there is nothing more destructive to marriage than the attitude that exists in many homes, which regards the man as having his area of responsibility, such as his office, his work, etc., and the woman having hers, the home, the children, etc., and there is little or no sharing together in these areas. It is always a destructive element in any home or marriage for either mate to feel that they have a private realm to the exclusion of the other. The man has nothing much to say around the home; the woman has nothing to do with her husband's work. This is terribly wrong. God made woman to be a helper to man and to share with him a mutual concern and responsibility, though necessarily they might have different assignments because of the nature of their work.

Thank you, Lord, for recognizing my deep need for companionship. Help me to express deep companionship with my spouse, if married, and other brothers and sisters in Christ, if not.