Glimpses of Truth

Friend or Foe?

There are days I feel lonely, even when people are around me.  Solomon was not only right, he was up to date when he wrote, “Two are better than one.”   Perhaps a loose paraphrase would be, “We need one another.”  One of the greatest needs found in today’s society is the need for relationships.  We are told how important it is for children to have positive relationships in order to mature into responsible adults. 

But when it comes down to it, we all need one another every day.  I have some friends that must have taken me on as someone who needs help.  I do need help!  I have other friends that I have adopted and have made special efforts to stand with them when they need help.  Don’t we all need help?  Some of us have support from family, work, friends, community, and church, but others, young and old, seem to have none of these.  It seems that some who rely on their friends are unaware of the fact that these so-called friends are not friends at all.  Anyone who gives you bad advice about places to go, things to do, words to say, or choices to make (which may be unwise or unwholesome) are not your friends at all.  They are your enemies.  Let me assure you—I don’t need any more enemies.

I don’t need or want the advice of anyone who is going to lead me the wrong way.  The wrong way brings me to places, ideas, lifestyles, and eventually to a future of heartache and heartbreak.  Spare me from such friends!  So what can we do?  What must we do?

Don’t we need to cultivate true friendships with those who can minister to us?  We need that.  Don’t we also need to involve ourselves in special friendships with those to whom we can minister?  They need that.

Let’s return to Solomon’s counsel to discover why, “Two are better than one.”  He states no less than four reasons in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

            First – They have a return for their labor (v.9) . . . mutual effort

            Second – One will lift up his companion (v. 10) . . . mutual support

            Third – They keep each other warm (v. 11) . . . mutual comfort and encouragement

            Fourth – They are able to resist an attack (v. 12) . . . mutual strength

These four points are pretty convincing evidence of the need for nurturing human contact, aren’t they?

In our crazy, mixed up society that seems to be making up the rules as we go, we find some people who are losing their way and others who are already lost.  They are isolated, lonely, and confused about what to accept.  They are looking for directions.  The world’s direction is like the blind leading the blind.  May we be willing in the strength of our Lord to recognize that there are many around us who would truly benefit from an investment of our time.  May we commit to being that someone (the one of the two) who is necessary for us and others to be strong and yield satisfying dividends.

Jesus Himself spent time with individuals and small groups with just that purpose—to yield satisfying dividends.  He desired to see in His companions Godly character, hope, peace, encouragement, principles of truth—life changing truths . . . not just theology, but hands-on reality.

So find those friends.  You need them!

Be that friend.  They need you.