14 relationshipsValentine’s Day should be about relationships in general, not just boy and girl. Whether we have a special someone or not we still must live life together. Solomon argues that we need each other for many practical reasons. There are greater results from our work when we do it together. One plus one always equals more than 2 when we work together. When we live life, walk this lonesome valley, side by side, we have others to help us when we fall into trouble or have problems. He says, “Woe to the person who falls when he is alone.” They have no one in their time of need. In Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 Solomon ads two more practical reasons why we need each other. In verse 11 he says that we provide warmth and support and comfort for each other without which we will not survive in the cold harsh world that is unconcerned about our pain and suffering. We need each other.

The Roman Emperor, Frederick the Great who ruled in the thirteenth century wanted to prove that Hebrew was the original language of man. It very well could be, but he went about it in a very crude and cruel experiment. He decided to isolate a few infants from the sound of the human voice. He reasoned that they would eventually speak the natural tongue of man. He assumed that people were born with the ability to speak. Wet nurses who were sworn to absolute silence were obtained, and though it was difficult for them, they abided by the rule. The infants never heard a word—not a sound from a human voice. Within several months they were all dead. According to Dr. Bernie Siegel, “Single men are jailed more often, earn less, have more illnesses and die at a younger age than married men. Married men with cancer live 20% longer than single men with the same cancer. Women, who often have more close friendships than men, survive longer with the same cancers. Married or not, relationships keep us alive.” We need each other for warmth and comfort.

The last reason is in verse 12. He says, “And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” We are like the Sequoia trees of California. They are incredible in size! But they have real shallow roots. You never find them standing alone. The wind rips them right out of the ground. They only survive when their roots are intertwined with one another. Nothing can uproot them when they cling to each other. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us “forsake not the gathering of yourselves together.” I get the idea that it means more than just going to church together on Sunday. It means intertwine your roots with each other. Identify with each other. Share our lives with each other. Together we can fight off many a temptation and attack from the enemy that we might not survive on our own. Life lived to the fullest is truly a life shared with others.