It Is Not Good for Man to Be Alone

Relationships According to the Bible

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18).

From the beginning, God made it clear: human life was designed for relationship. We are not isolated beings. We need fellowship, companionship, and connection—relationships that sharpen us and move us toward God’s purpose for our lives.

But as important as human relationships are, Scripture shows that the most important relationship of all is our relationship with God. Everything else is built on that foundation.

The first relationship: God and man

Genesis gives a beautiful picture of what God intended: God walking in the garden “in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8).

That scene reveals two essential truths:

1. Communication existed between God and man. There was closeness, fellowship, and daily interaction.

2. Sin changed the relationship immediately. Instead of running to God, Adam and Eve hid in fear.

Sin still does that. It separates. Isaiah said, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2).

And that separation is not something man can fix by his own willpower or good intentions.

God restored what sin broke—through Jesus

Here is the hope: God did for man what man could not do for himself.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

God’s word also tells us what we must do to be restored to Him:

• Believe (Mark 16:16)

• Repent (Luke 13:3)

• Confess Christ (Matthew 10:32)

• Be baptized into Christ for remission of sins, being raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)

Only after reconciliation with God can our other relationships become what they need to be. Scripture is blunt about this: if someone claims to love God while hating a brother, that claim is empty (1 John 4:20–21).

Relationships in the body of Christ

Christian living is not meant to be a solitary journey. It is a walk of believers together.

Ephesians lays out this truth clearly: after teaching God’s plan of redemption, it turns to instruct believers on how to live with one another.

“I…beseech you that ye walk worthy… with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1–3).

Relationships in the church—along with those in the home and workplace—are designed to help us grow not only individually but also corporately into the fullness of Christ for God’s glory.

The enemy of relationships: pride in two disguises

Many relationship breakdowns aren’t rooted in personality differences—they’re rooted in self-centeredness. The enemy of humility and meekness is pride.

Pride can show up in at least two ways:

• Superiority, like the Pharisee who thanked God he wasn’t like other men (Luke 18:11).

• Self-pity, a different form of pride that still seeks elevation and attention, only through despair instead of boasting.

Either way, pride turns relationships into a contest: Who is right? Who is seen? Who wins?

The Christ-centered path: deny self and consider others

“For to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).

When Christ is truly first, relationships change. Instead of asking what we can get out of people, we learn to ask what we can give.

That is where healthy relationships begin: God first, then others, then self.

Communication: the lifeblood of healthy relationships

Communication is at the heart of the relationship with God and the relationship with people. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12).

In close relationships, the closer the bond, the more transparency is required. A husband and wife should be completely transparent—no secrets.

When communication breaks down, trust breaks down. A wife once assumed her husband was doing something sinful with money taken from overtime pay, growing bitter for months—only to learn he had been saving it for their anniversary. A marriage nearly collapsed because of assumptions and silence.

Listen before you answer:

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him” (Proverbs 18:13).

Listening well takes discipline: concentrate, don’t plan your response while the other person talks, don’t interrupt, and ask clarifying questions when the conversation matters.

Communication is more than words:

Tone of voice, body language, and deeds speak too. The same sentence can be warm or threatening depending on how it is delivered.

Speak truth—and speak to build up:

“Putting away lying, speak every man the truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25).

And “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying… Let all bitterness, and wrath… be put away… and be ye kind… tenderhearted… forgiving one another” (Ephesians 4:29, 31–32).

God’s purpose in relationships

“Two are better than one… for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow… and a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12).

The closer the relationship, the more opportunity it gives us to grow and become more Christlike—whether husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, or brethren in the body of Christ.

The goal is not to make people the way we want them to be, but to encourage them to become more like Christ.