The Value of Good Friends

What is the value of good friends? I mean really good friends.

Kind of depends on what I mean by friend, doesn’t it?

I looked up friendship in several online resources and found the following…

• Merriam-webster.com – the state of being friends (ones attached to another by affection or esteem).
• Dictionary.com – the state of being a friend (a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard); association as friends
• Collinsdictionary.com – a relationship between two or more friends (someone you know well and like, but who is not related to you)
• Yourdictionary.com – a relationship between two people who like each other and enjoy each other’s company
• Britannica.com – a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people.

Those are all satisfactory definitions, I suppose, but for some reason, they fall a little flat when I think of friendships. However, I’m no better at describing these relationships, so I dug a little more and found a few quotes that helped.

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

This sounds easy, doesn’t it? We all want friends. You may not want friends around all the time, but it’s safe to assume you want friends. I agree with Emerson that if you aren’t a friend, you’ll have difficulty having friends. Think about what you want from your friends. Reach out to provide the same to them.

“Friendship is when people know all about you but like you anyway.” Unknown

I love this. I’d bet you’d have to work at producing this kind of friendship. Think about people who know all about you, or in some cases, even just a few things about you. Do they stick with you no matter your quirks? We all have those habits that cause others to, ahem… roll their eyes. Our friends accept us despite them.

“There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met.” Jim Henson

When you looked at this week’s photo, you might have thought, “Now there’s a close group of friends.” You’d be right, but maybe not in the way you meant. I’m the third one from the left.

I met the other three gentlemen at a small diner one morning. I was alone and they were holding their weekly Bible study in a nearby booth.

We struck up a conversation and they invited me in. We didn’t know one another and normally, I’m not one to reach out.  If someone reaches out to me, I’m a one-word answer kind of guy. In this case, I don’t remember who made the first move, but I believe the introduction was made by Jesus. You see, I knew what they were doing and without any other knowledge, I knew if they were Christians, we’d hit it off—and we did.

I asked after breakfast if they’d allow me to have someone take our picture because I wanted to remember the occasion. I don’t believe we ever did it again, but the photo of new friends makes me think of old friends.

“Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” Socrates

Oh boy. This one made me think. I wonder if Socrates had a situation where he made a fast friendship and got hurt? Have you? There’s something about the concept of friendships requiring time and effort that gives me a sense of well-being. Even more, when both friends commit to continuing firm and constant in their friendship. This brings me to one of my favorites.

The Value of Good Friends #hope #joy #WritingCommunity Click To Tweet

From King Solomon, who is described in the Bible as “greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.”

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and there is not another lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NASB)

Though there are many benefits to having friends, one rises to the top for me. God means for friends to lift one another in times of need. Times like today. May you have new friends, old friends, friends who like you no matter what, committed friends and above all, friends who will lift you up when you fall.

What kind of friends do you find most valuable?

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.

Quotes on friendship, other than Ecclesiastes, taken from https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/g5055/friendship-quotes/?slide=23