The Sin of Withdrawal

Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness; he does not know where he is going.--I John 2:10,11

Some forms of Idolatry are rarely discussed as sin, and because of that they can bring more destruction than the "major" sins.One such Idol is that of withdrawal, wherein people under pressure, sensing rejection or conflict, merely hide.They give up on others to meet their deepest needs, although their frustration, of course, proves that they have been looking in the wrong place for acceptance all along. They isolate themselves, block their emotions, and determine not to get close to another person (or other persons) again. By way of analogy, their life goes something like this: Each time someone hurts them, they get busy and lay up a row of emotional concrete blocks to encompass themselves. With the next hurt comes another row of blocks; then with the pain of a relationship, another row. With injury from a child, friend, or spouse, one more row is laid, and so on. Eventually a top is placed on the invisible structure, and at this point they are completely isolated, resolving not to let anyone in again and determining never to be hurt again. They are now prepared to receive every condemning thought about others that the enemy may whisper, his taunts that others have caused their misery, so others should never be allowed close enough to do harm again. Is that really what the Lord would have for His people? Is not the differentiation between the Christ within and the self-centeredness within revealed through interaction with His people? If we would grow in Christ, we should never withdraw from others, but rather allow the revelation of self-centeredness and the cross of Christ to replace it with Himself.

- Mike Wells