A Friday Proverb -- Solitary Man

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. -- Proverbs 18:1

I will be honest.  I do not like this verse because I was born a loner, and this sounds like the thinking of a creature of herds and packs -- a flocker.  Still, I have to admit the deeper wisdom it reflects.  Selfish gratification is always a danger when we wall ourselves up in our personal strongholds.  We pursue only the things that we enjoy, only that which pleases us.  We tend to become smaller, shrinking to fit the narrowing borders of our interests. 

Sound judgment, that is, wisdom -- what is of real value, becomes an offense to the isolated soul.  He “rushes on” against it, attacks it because it invades and disrupts the bit of egocentric paradise he has created. 

Isolation need not be physical.  We may be in the midst of a throng but sealed up and untouchable, unyielding, unwilling to respond from our hearts to those around us.  How many times do I cloak myself in busy-ness or distractions to hide from what I feel are unreasonable demands for attention and unwanted obligations that are thrust upon me?

We all need time alone.  People do ask too much of us sometimes.  Their self-centeredness can draw us down and wear us thin.  The connectedness of modern life can be relentless.  We have to get away.

But the question is, away to what?  Am I ever justified in “getting away” from God?  Isolating and insulating myself from the world -- as suits the bear, the eagle, and the old coyote, may not be such a bad thing.  What the wise ones will never do is cut themselves off from God.  He will keep us from the perils of self-seeking and self-gratification.  His Spirit keeps us open, sensitive, and empathetic to the legitimate needs of our brothers and sisters. 

To be moved only by the Spirit, this is the essence of sound wisdom.  We may, like the solitary eagle, rise to a more expansive perspective than would ever be known by the flock clustering and clucking on the ground. 

I like the proverb much better now.  Solitude has its risks as well as its rewards.  Wisdom is always the keen edge of the knife.  

I'll be OK as long as I don't start playin' solitaire 'til dawn with a deck of 51.  

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Completely unrelated:  I used to walk around singing that song all the time.  Memory is a funny thing.  For years (pre-internet) I would have sworn that the Dave Clark Five covered "Flowers on the Wall" and that it was their version that I first heard.  In fact, I convinced myself that I saw them on our old black-and-white television doing the song on Sullivan or somewhere.   It must have been the Statlers, and I somehow twisted them in my head.  I can't find anything that indicates DCF ever did it.