Loneliness . . .. . . and "Yada, Yada, Yada"

“Rather than turn from loneliness,
what if we turned toward it?
Could it be that loneliness is not a curse. . .
but a gift?
A gift from God?”

~Max Lucado,
Traveling Light: The Promise of Psalm 23

It was the 153rd Episode -- the 19th Episode of the 8th Season of the TV show, Seinfeld. The "Yada, Yada, Yada" episode. Surely you remember it . . . .

George is -- as usual -- overanxious and sensitive. He is concerned about his girlfriend's use of the phrase, "yada, yada, yada," as a way of getting past what to her are meaningless details.

Alas, Elaine steps in to reassure George . . .

George: You don't think she'd yada yada sex?
Elaine: I've yada yada'd sex.
George: Really?
Elaine: Yeah, I met this guy. We went out to dinner. I had the lobster bisque. We went back to his place. Yada, yada, yada. I never heard from him again.
Jerry: But you yada yada'd over the best part.
Elaine: No. I mentioned the bisque.

Needless to say, Seinfeld fans everywhere have forever secured "Yada, Yada, Yada" in their unconscious thesaurus as a synonym for sex.

Kinda' ironic since the Hebrew word "yada" refers to "knowing" another so intimately and completely that it is a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse. We read in Genesis 4:1 that "Adam knew" ("yada") Eve his wife; and she conceived and bare Cain...."

Forgive my sacrilege, but this is precisely how too many Christians have come to describe the most important, personal and relational aspect of being a Christian -- Salvation. For the most part, we "yada, yada, yada" over the actual salvation experience, racing right past (or skipping altogether) the acceptance of our depravity before a Holy God and the cultivating of an intimate and deep relationship with the only ONE that can save us from our sin and depravity.

A great number of churches today confuse human intellect and the ability to act like a Christian and think like a Christian and perform like a Christian for the real thing! The defining characteristic of a Christian is not necessarily a lifestyle (or lack of a certain [undesirable] lifestyle), but a relationship with Christ Jesus as Savior.

Our ability to rationalize and convince others we are a "Christian" by the way we act and think and speak and behave and dress and vote and how we spend our time and money is a hilarious substitute for the real thing. A substitute with eternal consequences.

French philosopher René Descartes coined the phrase, Cognito, ergo sum, translated: I think, therefore I am. Yeah, I've seen the various humor-indulged versions:

I think, therefore I imac,
I think, therefore I vote Republican, etc.

Funny. But while our ability to think and reason and behave does indeed set us apart from the rest of Creation and make us unique among other human beings, a biblical understanding that we are created in the image of God makes us relational beings as well! Like our Creator, we have been created in such a way that we require both human and Divine connection. So much so that lack of connectedness (or loneliness) truly is a critical state of existence!

And . . . [This is key:] a complete and full understanding of our condition before God shows us that it is not fellow human beings that we are disconnected from, but God Himself!!

Hence: The entire unfolding of the Plan of Salvation beginning in the Book of Genesis when human beings became lost and alone and cut-off and secluded and forlorn and abandoned. . . .

Hey! All synonyms for . . . lonliness!
...So basically, loneliness defines the human condition!

“Rather than turn from loneliness,
what if we turned toward it?
Could it be that loneliness is not a curse. . .
but a gift?
A gift from God?”

~Max Lucado

Is loneliness a "gift" from the Creator sent that we might find a greater gift? The gift of Genuine Salvation? Salvation by Grace Alone? Salvation apart from our own ability to do anything? Even our ability to think and reason and rationalize . . . and perform?

I think so . . .

I also think that the pseudo-loneliness that we feel when we are physically apart from -- or without -- friends and loved ones is greatly diminished when we can truly rest in the arms of our Savior. We all know "lonely" people who have found immense joy in their Salvation. Joy that quashes human "loneliness." These people are not lonely - they are alone. There is a big difference.

Then . . .

To confirm it -- this:

I read this Status Update on my Facebook over the weekend and I just had to wrinkle my forehead a bit at its implications . . .

Facebook Friend lol oh! I mean L-O-N-E-L-Y. So [bleep] lonely. I'm hyper bored and so lonely layin in bed watchin tv and doing computer. FB is all I have. i should sleep but it’s too early. I’m just so lonely it hurts feels like i ant gonna find any friends ever. It hurts

Sat at 7:41pm · Comment · Like

I think my Facebook Friend has recieved the gift of lonliness, but hasn't yet unwrapped it . . . .

~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen
© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife
[This article also submitted for outside publication]

This installment of InOtherWords is hosted by Loni on her blog, Writing Canvas.