Solitude - Introduction
This post begins a short series on ways in which a few of my favorite authors use solitude in their fiction. The topic caught my attention partly because of some reading on the spiritual disciplines I did this last year (Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline and several of Dallas Willard's books). In this first post, I'll talk a little about my experience and my current understanding of solitude's uses (positive and negative). That will provide a background for where I'm coming from as I comment on uses of solitude in fiction.
I have experienced solitude in some positive and some negative ways.
Four of the five jobs I have worked have involved extended periods of solitude, whether as a librarian, landscape technician, or secretary. The stretches of solitude occasioned by that work have often been spiritual deserts in which I have faced temptations that wouldn't emerge in the company of others. That probably says something about the value of fellowship, but I don't think solitude is necessarily bad. God has used some of those times of exposure in solitude to humble me and cause me to rely on Him (Deut. 8:2-3).
Prov. 18:1 articulates the balancing truth: "He who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment." Solitude often has negative results as well as positive.
Every time that verse comes to mind, it reminds me of the danger of compartmentalizing life: maintaining dissonant lifestyles depending on whom one is with or whether one is alone. Solitude can lead to health, but how can we be sure our use of it does lead to health?
Jesus practiced solitude frequently in his ministry. The Gospels sometimes explicitly tell us that the Spirit lead Him to solitude (Matt. 4:1); more often, they tell us that Jesus rose early to be alone to pray (Mark 1:35), on occasions sacrificing a night of sleep so He could pray (Luke 6:12-13). His withdrawals to solitude were frequent (Luke 5:15-16) and sometimes prolonged (see John 7:10). Sometimes this was Jesus' response to grief (Matt. 14:13); other times, he withdrew to simply rest (Mark 6:31-32).
For Jesus, solitude did bring some spiritual battles (Luke 4:1-13), but it also gave Him chances to pray, with Gethsemane being the example where we have the most details. In Gethsemane, Jesus used prayer in solitude to (1) express His desires to His Father and (2) affirm His submission to the Father's will for Him. Jesus' uses of solitude were in line with who He was (the Son of God) and the purposes the Father had for Him (the Lamb of God). Jesus' use of solitude strengthened Him for the public work the Father had for Him.
I suspect that negative uses of solitude are characterized by the opposite: negative uses of solitude seek opportunities for duplicity. If someone uses solitude to maintain a double-life, they intend the consequences of one life not to spill over into the other. Jesus intended His public life to flow directly out of His private life.
This post has focused on what characterizes positive and negative uses of solitude. I held off on talking about the effects of solitude much because I believe stories provide the best means for that discussion, and there are several stories I'm excited to read through the lens of solitude. Next time, a look at Ted Dekker's Beyond the Circle duology.
I have experienced solitude in some positive and some negative ways.
Four of the five jobs I have worked have involved extended periods of solitude, whether as a librarian, landscape technician, or secretary. The stretches of solitude occasioned by that work have often been spiritual deserts in which I have faced temptations that wouldn't emerge in the company of others. That probably says something about the value of fellowship, but I don't think solitude is necessarily bad. God has used some of those times of exposure in solitude to humble me and cause me to rely on Him (Deut. 8:2-3).
Prov. 18:1 articulates the balancing truth: "He who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment." Solitude often has negative results as well as positive.
Every time that verse comes to mind, it reminds me of the danger of compartmentalizing life: maintaining dissonant lifestyles depending on whom one is with or whether one is alone. Solitude can lead to health, but how can we be sure our use of it does lead to health?
Jesus practiced solitude frequently in his ministry. The Gospels sometimes explicitly tell us that the Spirit lead Him to solitude (Matt. 4:1); more often, they tell us that Jesus rose early to be alone to pray (Mark 1:35), on occasions sacrificing a night of sleep so He could pray (Luke 6:12-13). His withdrawals to solitude were frequent (Luke 5:15-16) and sometimes prolonged (see John 7:10). Sometimes this was Jesus' response to grief (Matt. 14:13); other times, he withdrew to simply rest (Mark 6:31-32).
For Jesus, solitude did bring some spiritual battles (Luke 4:1-13), but it also gave Him chances to pray, with Gethsemane being the example where we have the most details. In Gethsemane, Jesus used prayer in solitude to (1) express His desires to His Father and (2) affirm His submission to the Father's will for Him. Jesus' uses of solitude were in line with who He was (the Son of God) and the purposes the Father had for Him (the Lamb of God). Jesus' use of solitude strengthened Him for the public work the Father had for Him.
I suspect that negative uses of solitude are characterized by the opposite: negative uses of solitude seek opportunities for duplicity. If someone uses solitude to maintain a double-life, they intend the consequences of one life not to spill over into the other. Jesus intended His public life to flow directly out of His private life.
This post has focused on what characterizes positive and negative uses of solitude. I held off on talking about the effects of solitude much because I believe stories provide the best means for that discussion, and there are several stories I'm excited to read through the lens of solitude. Next time, a look at Ted Dekker's Beyond the Circle duology.
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