Friends? What are they? Why are they so important? Why do we take them for granted?

Friends are people who stand by you no matter what. A friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17a). Is this why we take them for granted? We just expect them be right around the corner to pick us up out of a hole.

Have you ever wondered why your friendship to someone is so important? Have you really sat down to think about it? Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 sums up this answer very well.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.

If our friendships are so important, then why do we jeopardize it by staying angry at each other? Why would we just toss our friendships in the trash? Why is it we don’t follow the advice of James?

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

It seems if we could just follow this advice, that we would not place our friendships in jeopardy. Ephesians 4:26 also states, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Sounds like simple advice. Don’t go to bed and still be angry with your friends. If the advice seems so simple then why can’t we do it? The answer is WE ARE HUMAN. We need a higher power to help us accomplish this. GOD!!!

True Life Experience: I went to college and became best friends with a girl named Carolyn. We could not be separated. It seem like nothing could tear us apart. Guess what? Something did. The friendship we took for granted was fading away. Basically we ended up going our separate ways. Three years went by without speaking to each other. (Talk about letting the sun go down.) We finally began speaking to each other. I don’t even think either of us knows what caused our anger. We are now friends and talk to each other back and forth. The sad part to this story is that we lost three years of a great friendship due to anger. We will never be able to gain those years back. NEVER.

Are you willing to loose a friendship because of anger? It is very hard to gain what you have lost back.

CHALLENGE FOR YOU: Regain a friendship that you took for granted. Don’t let the sun go down on this anger that you have been holding inside you. Start afresh with this friendship.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help them up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)