Two Are Better Than One

George Beverly

Chaplain

It’s one of the great conflicts of King's Bruton: Who’s the biggest Celine Dion fan? Mr Bunday or Mr Fletcher? Some have called it a clash of titans. Others have said it can never be settled. Both historians paint a very convincing air of being rather formal and traditional; but if you were to peel away the tweed, the Max Hastings books, and the cricket, you’d discover two unashamed fans of the Queen of the 1990s Canadian music scene. Both have all her albums favourited on Spotify. Both have posters of Celine in their classrooms. Both are die-hard Dion fans. Joking aside, Celine’s 1996 hit, All By Myself, contains some very pertinent words for the quasi-COVID/post-COVID world we inhabit:

Livin’ alone I think of all the friends I’ve known. But when I dial the telephone Nobody’s home.

All by myself Don’t wanna be, all by myself anymore. All by myself Don’t wanna live, all by myself anymore.

Indeed, it’s no surprise that COVID has seen far more people than usual experiencing the anguish of Dion’s chorus: All by myself. Don’t wanna be, all by myself anymore. Grandparents separated from their grandchildren. University students unable to visit mum and dad. Single folk (yes, like me!) stuck on their own in their hovels/ homes. Sure, we can see and hear each other through Zoom. But the other senses are muted: the embrace of a hug. The smell of a loved one. The taste of mum’s famous crumble. Most of all: the presence of someone else.

The point is, we weren’t made for this. Scripture oozes with the great truth that God’s purpose has always been for humans to be together, to enjoy relationship, to forge unity. To laugh together, learn together, eat together, weep together, worship together. We weren’t designed to be hermits. One of my favourite verses from the Bible is found in Ecclesiastes chapter four; it puts this truth as follows:

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

What truth! When we’re with someone else we work better and achieve more; as the verse said, ‘they have a good return for their labour.’ When we’re with a buddy or brother we are safe - ‘if either of them falls down, one can help the other up.’ Two really are better than one.

Like everyone, I’ve had plenty of falls so far in my life. Some of them have been physical - I have the scars to show for it. Other have been mental - dark seasons that seem irreversible. Some have been embarrassing - I wished the earth had swallowed me up. A few have been lifethreatening - I lost all hope! But in all of them, the truth of Ecclesiastes chapter four has shone through: ‘Two are better than one…If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.’ If it wasn’t for friends, family, neighbours, and strangers providing a word or hand or action of help, I’m convinced that things would have turned out for the worse. Indeed, whilst our pride tells us that “I can do this,” or “I’m strong enough to handle this,” often, if we’re honest, we know that the end of verse ten is the reality: ‘But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.’

A couple of years ago, the Bundays kindly gave me a book. Not Celine’s 1999 Almanac, but The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy. In it, there’s this powerful line: “What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said?” asked the boy. “Help,” said the horse. It’s true, isn’t it? So often our arrogance makes us believe, “you can go it alone!” and our culture tells us, “you’ve got this.” But the reality is, God calls us to collaborate, to share, to help - to be together. God calls us to be two, or three, or four, or four hundred…not to be one. And nowhere is this truth demonstrated better than in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He came to be with us. He is God with us. He came to provide the reality of two being better than one. Forget the lie of a distant and detached God. Knowing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour means we can be certain of never being alone, no matter what life throws at us. He loves us immeasurably - so much that he died for us to ensure that our sin doesn’t leave us alone and separated from God, but is taken away so that we can be united with God. As a man he experienced hunger, weariness, grief, anger, and every emotion we face - so he can empathise with us in every way. Moreover, he watches over us, and we can cry out to him in prayer about anything, anywhere, at any time. Jesus Christ’s immeasurable love for us is the greatest demonstration of two being better than one. Celine seems to be hitting the nail on the head when she sings:

Hard to be sure Some times I feel so insecure. And love so distant and obscure Remains the cure.

So here’s the question I’m left pondering: When I feel alone, will I tap into that ‘cure’ of love? Will I draw on the infinite love that Jesus Christ has for me? And regardless of whether we’re locked down or enjoying freedom, when I learn of others’ loneliness, will I demonstrate Christ-like love to them? Will I give them the joy of knowing that, ‘two are better than one?’