Friendship that Sticks
Today’s reading: Proverbs 16:1-18:24
My selection: Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
My reflections: In this age of Facebook and other social media, many jokes are made about internet friendships. One cartoon shows two people talking in a funeral service. The coffin is sitting in front but, except for the two people, the place is empty. One says to the other: “He had 2000 friends on Facebook. I can’t understand why so few came for his funeral.”
Sad but true. We may have become content with many superficial relationships in place of a few real ones. The problem is not a new one. The warning is given here. It is possible to have many buddies, when there‘s a party, but no real friends.
A parallel passage in Proverbs 17:17 says: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
My challenge: Beware of fair-weather friends. Do not count on them. On the contrary, be a friend and a brother who truly loves in the good and the bad times. Who needs you to stick close today? Who is your “closer than a brother” friend? May you know the One who said, “I call you friends” and who laid down His life for His friends (John 15:13-15).
Tomorrow’s reading: Proverbs 19:1-21:31