Q33. Isolation

[Pastor Ralph]

Q33. Why are God’s gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?

[Irmela]

Q33. Why are God's gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation?

How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear?

How can it impoverish you?

God gives so we can in turn give.  He did not make us to isolate ourselves from the human race.  We are exhorted in the Word not to neglect the gathering together of the saints.  This is for a reason.  When we are a functioning part of a body of believers, then the caring nature that God has bestowed on us can function in the form He has gifted us with.  Be it in serving, teaching, pastoring, nursing, encouraging, sharing etc.  When we are isolated ,  we become me-thinkers (ego), no longer seeing the need in  the community.  Fear of crowds sets in, and in fact a fear of not being able to cope in a normal everyday situation.  I guess if one is not careful one can become selfish or begin having lonesome pity-parties.  

[Krissi]

I attend church out of obedience. I give what I can and go to both Sunday services and a weekly women’s Bible study. At the service, I partake in the eucharist and enjoy the beautiful liturgy – I’m Anglican. I’m usually the first out the door, however, and even park in such a way that I can sneak away without having to talk to anyone. This is NOT due to selfishness or fear, as the question states, but instead, is a way of avoiding a situation that’s awkward and uncomfortable … and will not change.

I’m divorced. The position of a divorced woman in the church is tenuous, at best. Church is for families, children and couples. I’ve had to rebuff attempts by well-meaning people at the church to set me up with men. Obviously, they think that singleness is a status that needs “fixing.” For this reason alone, going to church has become a depressing and alienating experience, one that reinforces my sense of marital failure. 

So, yes, I avoid social contact and am not a “functioning part of a congregation,” as Pastor Ralph’s question states it.

Am I burying my talents? I don’t think so. My abilities and ministry would be outside the church in both solitary circumstances and among secular people, even if I were not divorced. I serve, but not believers. I serve unbelievers.

Is this spiritually impoverishing? Yes.

[hanks]

Q33. 
Why are God's gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?
The whole purpose of these gifts of grace that God gives us, is to edify and mature the church, to glorify God in blessing and serving others. Of course, this cannot happen when people don’t attend church – it can only function in a congregation. Selfish, self-centred believers use these gifts to draw attention to themselves and to edify themselves – to the detriment of the church. When we isolate ourselves from the Christian community, not only is it difficult to use and apply these gifts but also to receive blessings from others. So, we are the losers – we deprive ourselves of the blessings we have been given. 
 

[Diane D.]

• Each one of us has different gifts which we use for the benefit of the church congregation as a whole.  None of us are equipped with all the gifts so that we achieve our full potential and blessing on our own.  Each one of us contribute to the best fit within the entire Body of Christ where we can flourish.
   
• I'm not sure I would classify this isolation from crowds of people as selfish.  In many cases it is a natural way to best protect your health.  However, if taken to extremes, over time, isolation can tend to either influence the person into thinking that they are 'just not good enough' to attend the church or that the church itself is not doing/performing in a way that is edifying to the person and the church as a whole.  This can happen when the church is dying or when there are other influences in the church that have made some changes to the culture there. Isolation is not best for any of us.  God created us to communicate to each other and to thrive in an environment with others.  To continue isolation will cause unmerited inflation of the feeling of fear and aloneness, unreasonable biases and bitterness.  Continuation on this line of thought could easily lead to self-pity and mistrust of God and His promises.

 

[t-c]

Q33. Why are God’s gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?                                
 
First of all and most importantly; this is the way God planned it. We are the body of Christ and we all have different gifts that complement one another, glorifying God. We share our gifts and love for one another, strengthening the body, adding to its number, glorifying God. Love God, love people!

Been there and done that! It’s selfish because as followers of Christ we all have a gift/gifts from God to augment the body universal or the local church. All to glorify God. We are told in scripture to be part of the body of believers. Hebrews 10:25. If we isolate from the church we deprive it of the God given gifts we could bring as well as what we would receive. The fear comes from our isolation and maybe a worry of not being received. Or maybe we don’t feel like we’re good enough or we have been hurt by a church. Many reasons for fear.

We were not created to be alone. That started in the garden and has been that way ever since. People need people. On our own, our faith can be weakened or can become skewed. Iron sharpens iron. We need spiritual guidance and balance to keep us centered in Christ.                               
We will find meaning and purpose as we serve and break the bread of God’s Word with a body of believers. It is part of the “abundant life” that Jesus speaks about in John 10:10
 

[Rob Mc.]

Out and about, versus stay home and pout!  Which Christian are you?

Though you may have a spiritual gift, or even two, those alone cannot complete the mission that Christians are given by God.  It takes the whole body, working together to achieve what we are ordained to do.  If we stay home, sure, we can post great religious verses and stories on social media.  But as you know, most fall flat and most people just scroll by.  There is no IMPACT.

But when you are “face to face” with others in the body of the church, all of your senses come in to play: you see, you hear, you speak, you listen, and you act!  Fervor feeds off of others; you can’t get that feeling from a TV preacher sitting alone in your living room.  You are only receiving the scripted/edited portions of the message (plus a lot of crowd shots to show great attendance for this preacher). 

You can’t nod to your neighbor in the pew next to you when a salient point hits home.  You can’t sing in harmony with the rest of the congregation during one of your favorite hymns. You can’t FEEL the experience, which is a shame because that’s how Jesus came across throughout His teachings.  Read in the bible and see the positive emotions (from His disciples) and negative emotions (from the Pharisees/Sadducees) that are in response to when Jesus speaks.

Please continue to search for that anointed body of people (a church) that you can spend some time with.  It will change you!  Just being with like-minded people that understand can alter your life.

[Lottie]

Q33. Why are God's gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?

God's gifts of grace bless others more when they are all together then when they are seperated. People cannot experience God's gifts or mercy and compassion when they are home. They cannot feel the love from others or be benefiited by a smile or a hug or a word of encouragement or even healing.

Isolating yourself from the Christian community involves selfishness and fear when people refuse to go because they are afraid they might get sick or because they were hurt in the past by some church members and refuse to forgive and go back. Then they are wasting their talents and gifts that the Lord has given them. It can impoverish me because I am missing out on being with other Chritians and being prayed over. I am missing out on using my gifts for the church and helping others. I am missing out on the joy that giving service brings

[Katy]

Those who attend church meet other believers and receive from them the benefit of their spiritual gifts, if you are not physically at church you cannot be blessed by others gifts, nor can you share your gift with others, it might as well be buried in the ground. You are responsible for depriving your brothers and sisters of the blessing from your unique and precious gift. If we don’t attend church we are being impoverished by not receiving the blessing of others gifts.

[Zanele Tlhakanelo]

We need to understand that we are many parts but one body. Therefore, God has given us different gifts and when we meet and fellowship with God and men at church, we are able to grow our gifts as we edify one another.

You cannot grow when you are in isolation but need other brethren to encourage you to keep the faith. Can you imagine suffering alone at home without anyone encouraging or praying for you? When you are at church, you are surrounded by love and you will also use the gift given to you through grace to support others. 

Selfishness and fear can impoverish people because that is not in the plan of God. When God created us, He said "Let us" meaning He did not want to take the credit as God the Father, without involving God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore God displayed that selfishness is not needed in the body of Christ and fear cripples a Christian as with what He has given us and be able to share with us. When we fellowship as the body of Christ, we are able to lift one another up.

[BoazNigel]

1 Cor 14:12 says "... you a re SO eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives seek those that will STRENGTHEN THE WHOLE CHURCH" (NLT)

The whole purpose of the gifts is to STRENGTHEN the church - not just those whom God uses & therefore they are to be operated in community

Isolating yourself impoverishes not only you but the whole church community. We were not created to be individuals but to be members of the Body of Christ.

We should embrace our spiritual gifts & seek to bless the Body of Christ of which God has made us a part.

[Debra Grant]

Q33. Why are God’s gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?

1. We are helpers to one another. We learn from one another spiritually through gifts that each one holds in the body of Christ. We give and receive love, learning the word of God, and communicating with each others. When we isolate ourselves, our learning, communicating with others, using our gifts is not in progress, is at a stop.

2. Not knowing what can be our strength brings fear because we are lacking knowledge of God and trust. If we are along, it brings selfishness due to only thinking about ourselves.

3. It can impoverish a person because the person does not know everything and need the gifts, teaching, communication of others. When we live off of what we know it shortens our knowledge and wisdom. How can our gifts be exalted if we just rely on the little we know.

[haar]

Q33. Why are God's gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation?

God’s gift of grace is immensely a greater blessing to those who attend church and are functioning part of the congregation because meeting together offers an opportunity to render service of the gift of grace to the needy members.

How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you?

Isolating ourselves from church can limit or completely eliminate our service of gifts of grace to the needy. This is selfish and we need to repent and make amends. If we don’t make amends we would be treated like the servant who failed use his mina and was rebuked and banished from the presence of the master.

[lighthouse2014]

 God's grace and the gifts bestowed upon us are a greater blessing to those who attend church because all are edified and share in these endowed gifts of grace.

Those who have these gifts becomes selfish when not gathering at church and sharing them with his fellow Christians.   

  When one does not share his gifts with fellow Christians they will become weak in their faith and productiveness or quality of these gifts become diminished. 

[JOLLAM BANDA]

When we isolate ourselves, when we are absent from church, we interrupt or lessen the flow of God's grace through spiritual gifts from us to the body and from Christ's body to us. This is like burying our gift in the ground. When we separate people from one another, it becomes much harder to exercise these gifts. Each of us should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. We are a trustee, a steward of something that belongs to God. We should not wrap up the gift God has given us and bury it in the ground as the evil servant in the Parables of the Talents and of the Minas.

[Old Jerry]

God’s gifts of grace are immensely greater blessing to those who attend church because they are able to share what they have been given. They are able to talk to like minded people that helps them keep on track for the gospel.

[Lisa Wolf]

Q33. Why are God’s gifts of grace an immensely greater blessing to those who attend church and are a functioning part of a congregation? How can isolating yourself from the Christian community involve selfishness and fear? How can it impoverish you? 

1 John 1:7 caught my attention a long time ago.  In addition to all the Scriptures noting that the gifts are given by the Spirit as God wills them to be given for the body of Christ, this passage in 1 John emphasizes fellowship. We HAVE to BE WITH others.  Fellowship among Believers is crucial, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." When we isolate, we become impoverished completely.