7th February 2026

Loneliness

There is one alone, without companion:

He has neither son nor brother. 

Ecclesiastes 4:1

Today's Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12.

For many around the world, life is becoming increasingly lonely. In some regions, the number of people with no close friends has multiplied since 1990. In parts of Europe, as many as one in five people report feeling lonely. In Japan, some elderly individuals have even committed minor crimes simply to experience companionship in prison.

In response, entrepreneurs have proposed a modern “solution” to loneliness: rent-a-friend. Hired by the hour, these companions meet clients in cafés or parks for conversation. One such ‘friend’ described her customers as “lonely professionals in their thirties and forties—people who work long hours and lack time to form friendships”.

Ecclesiastes 4 paints a sobering picture of such a life: a person entirely alone, with neither “son nor brother.” His labour never ends, yet his success brings no satisfaction ( 8). At last he asks, “For whom am I toiling?” He realises too late that relationships matter more than relentless work. Two, after all, are better than one: they share the load, help each other up, and stand stronger together (vv. 9–12). Achievement without companionship, Solomon concludes, is “meaningless”.

We are reminded that “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (v 12). Such bonds take time to weave and cannot be hired. Let us invest patiently in real friendships, with God as the third strand. Above all, let us remember that the greatest friend any of us can have is Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father, help me to be a good and loyal friend to others. In Jesus name. Amen.