By Pastor Timothy Neptune
In our crazy world, if we are not careful, the busyness of life will crowd out the time we need to develop and maintain healthy relationships. Having friends is very important!
The Bible gives us some great advice on the importance of friends and of building healthy relationships:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl. 4:9-12
Everyone likes to make good investments in life. We want our stock portfolios to do well. We hope our real estate holdings to go up in value. We want all of our investments to appreciate. Our hope is that if our investments go up in value it will ultimately improve the quality of our lives.
That premise may or may not be true, but there is one investment that does pay great dividends and will improve the quality of your life, but it often gets overlooked in the grand scheme of things: our investment in people.
Building and maintaining strong friendships is a good investment of your time.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor…” A good return in this passage is talking about the dividends that come from a wise investment.
We were not created to live life alone. We need each other.
Do not underestimate the value of friends. Friends provide:
• Encouragement
• Moral support
• Trusted counsel
• Spiritual admonition
• Accountability
• A helping hand
Solomon writes in all of his wisdom: pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. That could be you or me if we don’t take the time to invest in building good friendships. Perhaps you could ignore this wisdom as long as you are certain that you will never fall or be the one in need of a helping hand.
If you do not invest time in forging strong friendships, who will be there to help you in your times of crises and need?
It is a good investment of your time build lasting friendships.
Solomon also said, “if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?”
There are certain things that you just can’t do by yourself. You need a friend.
If you reflect back on your life, I’m sure you can think of a time in your life when a friend made all the difference in the world at a time when you needed it most.
A good friend knows when to talk and when to just sit with you in silence and be there as a support. Margaret Runbeck says, “Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts.”
Sometimes just having a warm body with you is all you need to get through a particularly difficult time in your life. But, what happens to those who failed to invest in their friendships? When the tough times come… there is no one there give comfort and care.
You are likely to face some pretty big battles in life.
You may have a:
• Health issue
• Marriage difficulty
• Legal challenge
• Financial crises
• Or face the loss of a dear loved one.
When you face your biggest battles you need your closest friends. Your relationship with God and your closest friends give you the strength you need to face your biggest battles.
You can’t wait until you are in a crisis to start building friends. You need to intentionally work on your friendships on a regular basis. The day will come when they need you and the day will come when you need them.
In next month’s issue we will look at four steps to building and maintaining healthy friendships. Until then, start making some investments in your friends: invite them over, give them a call, send them an email, take them to dinner… you never know when they will need you and you never know when you will need them.
Tim Neptune is the lead pastor of Venture Church in Naples, Florida. Venture Church meets on the campus of FSW State College on Lely Cultural Blvd. in East Naples. For times and directions, visit www.venturenaples.com.