I get by with a little help from my friends... or, not.

This came to mind recently and was worth a mention. I think we are given a lie by the world about "friends". We read, watch and hear all the time about "bffs" and lifelong friends and thick and thin etc etc etc.

But that's not the way things usually work. Friendly people pass into and out of our lives all the time. If we don't have enough of one or several of them, we tend to resent it. That resentment boils around for a while and turns into all sorts of ugly things - sadness, anger, bitterness, loneliness - and colors the way we see the world and the blessings God has given us.

That resentment and its fruit is really pointed at Him.

I was going through this just the other day. Leaving a crowd of friends and acquaintences, I realized I couldn't think of anyone who would care I was gone. And I let it roil about and affect my day. I resented the feeling and then felt guilty for feeling sorry for myself. All in all, a yucky spiral downward.

Thinking about it later, I realized the nature of the sin the world wants us to commit...

We're told by the world that our comfort needs to come from our friends. That's not the case. Our comfort not only shouldn't but can't come from friends. If it can't come consistently from those who have a deep, physical reliance on us, like family or spouses or ourselves, how can we possibly have comfort from other non-self, non-spouse, non-family "friends"?

The good news is that there is one true friend who has promised to never leave nor forsake us, who is unchanging, unwavering and, unlike any other in creation, has the power to fulfill His promise. I pray that in His mercy, He gives us comfort on this matter. According to His will, I pray we each find others to be the sort of friends we need to have and recognize the truth of the kindness that really is.

But, more, I pray for each of us to never NEED those others to be happy.