True Friendship

Friendship, true friendship means something. Well it used to but with the advent of the electronic avenues such as cell phones, voicemail, Facebook, and Twitter we seem to be ready to be that Friend, but often it falls flat in satisfying the desire for true friendship.

I joined Facebook a little over a year ago under the encouragement of my staff. I was reluctant, not because I resist technology, but because I did not want to spend my time trying to be a friend or pastor through a keyboard. I prefer to do it in person, face to face! Eventually I saw the value in joining Facebook, so I signed up.

Amidst the fun of learning another piece of technology I noticed something on Facebook; that Friend’s counter on the left side that shows how many friends I have. Interesting, how many friends I have….humm. Well that must mean something right? I later found out it did not mean they where my friends, it just meant they accepted an invite from me. Sadly over the time I have been on Facebook I have talked with people that consider it a badge of honor or a goal to have as many friends as possible. Instead of gaining real friends they gained virtual friends. I have yet to see a realistic friends list, most range from hundreds to thousands!!! This runs the risk of a false sense of connection and friendship.

The far becomes near and the near becomes far in the electronic age. We have become a culture of individual tribes placing a priority on relating electronically instead of in person, often being more honest to the virtual world than the real world. Our desire for connection and community continues to grow as our friends list grows, yet we struggle to find true friends and become digital nomads wandering through life alone.

True friendship is a rare thing and is more than a simple click of a mouse; it is more valuable than that. So, what friends do you need to get together with face to face with this week? Make sure to cultivate the right friends in your life, they will be few and it will be an investment that will save your life one day.
(Proverbs 18:24) “ A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”