Warp and weft
A threefold cord.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Something to think about
Faith is relational: we do not live spiritual lives in isolation. The mysterious loner who recurs as an archetype in fiction, usually to rectify injustice, though occasionally to sow division and fear before riding off into the sunset, may grasp our imaginations, but our instinct is to know him for an incomplete man.
The need for companionship, support and protection is universal. We need both to give and to receive these gifts at different times in our lives. The simple examples offered by the Ecclesiastes writer are a pointer to responsibility and a reminder that I must not theorise to the exclusion of the practical.
Christian Aid invites all of us to both knowledge and practical action. Working alongside disadvantaged or suffering people and manifesting love through partnership nourishes the dignity of both parties in the endeavour. It models the relationship which is the Good News and offers a way out of the illusion of self-sufficiency and exceptionalism.