The Loneliness of Being an Outcast
The Samaritan woman at the well gives us a hint as how to handle loneliness and being an outcast in this world today. The Samarian woman brought her village to Christ in spite of being an outcast, being lonely and in spite of being shunned. We as women of Christ must dig deep and know we know Christ and His Will for us. Look around you Jesus Christ is an outcast of this world as a follower of Him why would you not be an outcast?
We know the Samaritan Woman at the Well was a social outcast. She came to Jacobs well in the sixth hour which is around noon. She was alone and this says that her relationship with other villagers was that of an outcast. She was probably shunned by the other women who would normally go to the well together with their water jars earlier to escape the heat of the day.
We know that water needed for the household had to be carried from the local well. The women of the village would carry their earthenware jars to the well and then return to their homes. It was not unusual for the younger women or the slaves to do the carrying of water.
There would have been socializing going on at the well. It was like a social gathering place for women to catch up on things going on in the villages. The Samaritan woman would not want to take part in this type of socializing because she had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. That is enough to be considered a social outcast. We are social animals. We all need to be with other people. Sometimes we cause our loneliness by not focusing on social norms or maybe we do not have knowledge of social skills needed to get along with people. (Weiss 1973) defined an attachment theory of loneliness where lack of social relationships loneliness serves a specific function. Weiss described loneliness as “a chronic distress without redeeming features” (Weiss, 1973, p. 15).
The Samaritan woman did not follow the social norms. That is the normal social morality. She was made to feel insignificant because she had 5 husbands and the one she was living with was not her husband. She was shunned. There are many different reasons for loneness and it is a problem facing woman today. These reasons can be because of isolation. This isolation can take the form of moving to a different location, restrictions of daily like activities due to failing health, the loss of a loved one, or even something like getting older or depression. This can happen overnight or over a period of many years. Loneliness is a problematic difficult state for anyone to be in.
Loneliness can affect our view of life and self-image. It can manifest in the feelings of more anxiety and fearfulness, pessimistic and negativity in the outlook of the life that surround you. It can change the way you see those around you and leave you expecting to be social rejected. Loneliness can also open the door for depression. Loneliness can lead to interpreting your world as a threat and you being inadequate to live in the world. This can lead to health problems like high blood pressure, depression, sleep deprivation; even eating disorders and can lead to alcoholism.
Needless to say there are lots of negative effects that can be produced by loneliness. It is not abnormal. Everyone has feelings of loneliness sometimes in their life. It is the chronic loneliness that is the problem and needs to be dealt with. Loneliness is not confirmation that you are bad, weird or even a social outcast. It really is a natural part of the human condition.
We need to remember as Christian woman we are never alone. We can be outcasts to the world. We are never an outcast to our Lord. When we have Jesus with us we are never alone. If you think of the Bible as the instruction manual for our life and Jesus Christ as the example for our life then we can have hope, peace and even comfort for a brighter journey in life.
Jesus understands human emotions and that includes loneliness and being an outcast. Jesus experienced this with His twelve disciples. One on them betrayed Him to the Sanhedrin one of His closest Peter denied Him three times; while He was on the cross he was afraid His Father had forsaken Him.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
The world will turn its back on us as Christians but we need to remember that the LORD God will never leave us. This is a powerful encouragement especially when we are abandoned by others. Isaiah 41:10 tells us “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
The Samaritan woman at the well was an outcast and lonely yet she knew the Messiah was coming and would make all things that are wrong right. We must also know that our Messiah is returning and will make all things that are wrong right. We must concentrate on His return and not on our being outcasts of this society and our loneliness. We are not of this world just like Jesus is not of this world. We have the Word of Jesus Christ and the world hated Jesus. The world also hates the followers of Jesus. That is us. (John 17:17:11-16).
We should rejoice that we are outcasts to this world because we belong to the kingdom of the LORD God. Soon we will be with our like kinds and no longer outcasts and lonely. We need to hang on and endure. Break away from the worldly people around you and seek out those who follow after Jesus. Have faith and know Jesus is your Lord and Savior.
Take your pain and loneliness to the LORD then sit and listen to His reply to you. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Samaritan Woman at the Well was a social outcast. This was not a deterrent for her. She knew the Messiah was coming, which is called Christ, and He had all the answers for her. Being a social outcome did not deter when she ran to the village, where she was an outcast, and she brought them to Jesus. She overcame being an outcast. Did she get verbal credit for bringing the village to Christ? No, they said unto the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”(John 4:42).
It does not matter if she got the credit or not! The Samarian woman brought her village to Christ in spite of being an outcast, being lonely and in spite of being shunned. We as women of Christ must dig deep and know we know Christ and His Will for us.
Philippians 2:15-17 is a reminder that we must remain blameless and harmless without rebukes in the midst of a crooked, perverse and wicked nation. Our world today is wicked and perverse. We are expected to hold tight on the Word of life so we may rejoice in the day of Christ. We have to be careful to not run the life journey in vain neither labor in vain. There is no time to be concentrating or worrying about being an outcast or being lonely. We must keep our eyes on the prize.
References:
Weiss, R. S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “The Loneliness of Being an Outcast:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2131,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “The Loneliness of Being an Outcast:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2131,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “The Loneliness of Being an Outcast:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2131, (accessed).
