“True
Friends are like diamond, and Gold, they are rare.
False
Friends are like dry leaves, and found everywhere.”
The closest
relationship in life all starts with “F”:
-
Family
-
Friends
-
Foes!
Today, I was
browsing through my journal and a devotional record on Genesis Chapter 38
struck a chord on me:
Genesis
38:1-2 “At that time, Judah left
his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter
of a Canaanite man named Shua….”
What struck
me is that Judah left his family, the chosen family of Abraham, his grandfather
and went to stay with a Canaanite friend. It is obviously that through this
friend, he picked up all the wrong doings in life. First, he chose to marry a
Canaanite woman, which Abraham forbid his descendent to marry. Then, he
followed the lifestyle of the Canaanite culture by having sex with Temple
prostitutes. Obviously, his sons grew up as evil men and God had to intervened
and slew them. Be
Careful of the kind of friends you have.
We all have
friends. Choosing the right kind of friends will definitely influence your life
for the better. Some friends come and go; some friends are for a season, but
there are friends that stay for life. Some friends are here just to get; some
friends are able to give; but most friends are here to share.
So, how do I
consider acquaintance as friends? We meet people in school; those are
classmates. We meet people in the army camp; these are comrades. Then we meet
people in our working offices and these are colleagues. And also, those in
church, neighbours, and even relatives. All these bring us together but not
necessary make us friends. Some can even turn into foes. It is how we choose to
relate to each other that decides whether we are friends, acquaintances, or
even foes.
Friends carry one-another
burdens. We help each other. But some are there just to take advantage of your talents or time to
help them do things. Often, it is only one-sided. And with ulterior motives. My
previous company colleagues fall into this category. And so, after I resigned
from the company, all the phone contacts are deleted and forgotten.
As I get older,
I try to count who my friends are. Right now, the people I meet more often
other than my family are the cell group members. Through the years, I think we
have learn to open up our lives and willing to talk about the difficult things
that happen to us. Those that feel uncomfortable would have left after a year
or two. So, right now, most have stayed for more than 3 years and are more
willing to share and accept each other’s idiosyncrasy. So, I would say that we
have reach a state of friendship rather than cell-mates.
I have 2 very long time friends. One of them, Joshua, was my university friend since undergraduate days, where we stayed in the same hall block and also in the same tutorial group. Another friend was when Joshua and I were studying part-time in NUS for our master degree some 31 years ago. We have maintained very good relationship during our university days, where we shared study notes, work in the same project group and help each other through our assignments. Both of them are doing very well – staying in big houses, wealthy and influential in society. Their circles of friends include bankers, elite groups in both government and political offices. Many a time, I wonder why they still choose to be a friend with me, a simple humble person with no benefit to them as friend.
In the
Bible, we learn that a true friend would even go to the extent of giving up his
life for a friend. Jesus said in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this:
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. That’s how great a friendship our Lord Jesus
is to us.
And so, I like to share this Chines song
from Wakin Chou - friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
So, who are
your friends? True or False?
Agape
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