Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father
and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you
better a neighbour nearby than a brother far away.
As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. Proverbs27:10-17
They say that blood is thicker than water, but that is not always a good thing. There are times that we need the simple uncomplicated love of a friend more than we need the love of a complex historic family structure. The proverb is not against family - it would not promote loyalty to a father's friend if it was - it is just arguing that there are times that a friend can be closer than a brother.
Sometimes we desperately need the objectivity of a friend rather than the subjectivity of a relative. Our friends often see us apart from our history and upbringing and these insights are valuable.
The wonderful thing about friendship is that it is a mutually beneficial thing - iron sharpens iron by friction. Friendship isn't always easy: we have to work at it; there may be friction and heat; and the sparks may even fly, but we come out sharper!
How many friends do you have? Are there any you can phone in the middle of the night? If you have none, then something is missing - begin to enlarge your circle!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
