Friends: Wise vs. Foolish

Planet Wisdom is embarking upon "Fool Week" for devotional topics.  And, it is very relevant to wherever you are today in your friendships.  

Go with me on a mental journey...fantasy...okay, sci fi adventure for you fans out there (and you KNOW who you are!). 

 

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far, away...(um, no, wait...wrong story).

Queue in the rewind music scramble.

 

It was a dark and stormy night...(no, that's not it)!

Queue in the screeching sound cartoon brakes make.

 

Once upon a time (ah, here we go), at school, your cell phone dropped into the toilet (HOW do you people do this?) and you didn't have cell phone insurance...dunh dunh DUNH!!  You stayed longer than usual in the restroom, hoping the handsfree dryer would evaporate the moisture permeating your cell phone device. Subsequently your friends took off, leaving you alone.  So much time had passed, while you were desperately trying to dry out your cell phone, dusk had fallen when you emerged from the restroom.  Or, twilight, if you will (nod to our Team Jacob fans).

 

(Hit pause please - I need to go and perform the elaborate preparations for my perfect cup of Earl Grey tea.   Ahhh...NOW we can continue.)

Spying a landline (gasp!) telephone, you shuffle forlornly (or plod dejectedly, or walk deliberately, or run frantically...you get the idea...you traversed from point A:restroom exit to point b:pay phone) to the pay phone. (Is it normal for one to have so many parenthetical comments while writing one's own story? Hmm...I can hear Simon Cowell calling me "self indulgent." Or a "funny, quirky thing," not sure which.)

 

Fortunately for you, you recall the alarming story of your mom NOT having a cell phone in her teen years and having to resort to landlines or payphones. You remember the vivid details she meandered on about on how to actually make and pay for a phone call.

 

With real, live money.

 

Actual coinage.

 

Digging through the bottom of your backpack, or pocket, or purse, or murse (whomever you are, dear reader, consider the appropriate reference), you find loose change.  Because all of your friends' cell numbers are stored on your mobile device, and you didn't memorize them, you have to call your mom.

 

No answer. Shocking, your mom always answers your calls!

 

It is now getting dark.  You are still at school!!!  Isn't someone worried about me?  As you slowly walk down the hallway you consider your friends.  You wonder who would actually come looking for you if they couldn't get in touch with you?  You begin to wonder why at least this person or that person didn't come back in to the restroom and find out what was taking you so long?  And then, you turn the corner and there they are! Your gaggle of friends!  Every single one of your friends is waiting by your locker (do you even have lockers anymore?).  They are talking among themselves and one spots you.

 

"Hey! What took you so long?" He/she/it yells out to you in greeting.

 

You're safe!

They waited.

You are not alone!

Phew!

 

You join up with your friends and are whole once again. All your friends commiserate with your cell phone destruction story. One of your friends even offers to give you their cool phone when it is time to upgrade their phone.

 

Which will happen tomorrow!

 

Mobile device angels rejoice!

 

The cell phone umbilical cord is soon to be reconnected!

All is well with your world again.

The end.

OKAY, so this silly story doesn't have much of a point (again, Simon's voice scornfully saying, "self indulgent").  I know most of you can relate to catching up with your group of friends and feeling connected.  Friends are really important to all of us.  Even you - you lone wolf, I am an island, person.

 

Who are your friends?  Are they REALLY friends or just acquaintances?  I liked what this young man had to say in the following article:

 

What is a True Friend?

By Jeff Yourison

 

"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."—Aristotle

 

You can have a lot of acquaintances, but only a few people will become your best friends. These are kindred spirits, much like David and Jonathan mentioned in the main article, whose souls were "knit together." Friendships like this will endure, even though the intensity of the friendship will ebb and flow over time.

 

One of the dangers in this kind of friendship is co-dependency. The sheer delight of having such a friend can also create weighty expectations in the relationship. A good question for friends to ask regularly is, "Are we truly seeking the other person's highest good?"

 

"A true friend stabs you in the front."—Oscar Wilde

 

Leave it to Oscar Wilde to lay out an important truth with such wry humor. A true friend is one who helps you see the truth, even if it hurts. This doesn't mean we can go around stabbing our friends with hurtful words. Rather, it means being up front with friends about important issues, raising gentle questions with tact and love, never gossiping or putting them down to others behind their backs.

 

"I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know."—Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Real friendships don't just happen, and they aren't maintenance free. Ask questions both in conversation with your friend and when you're alone: "How would you describe our friendship?" "What is God doing in each of us, separately and together?" "How can we help each other become all God wants us to be?"

 

Frank likes to quote, "Show me your friends and it will show me who you are."

 

What type of friends are you comfortable with: Friends who tell you the truth or friends who tell you what you want to hear?

 

Here's the hard one: do your friends push you toward God or pull you away from God?

 

Are you the kind of friend who pushes or pulls people to/from God?

 

Read on to see what PW has to say on this subject.

 

I pray you will be a wise friend and seek out wise friends.

 

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

---

Fool Week: Get Wise Friends Posted: 08 Mar 2010 04:29 PM PST "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." (Proverbs 13:20) Welcome to Fool Week on the PW. We're dissecting fools this week in search of what it takes to be the opposite of wise. Hint: It's not that hard. Why does it matter if we know what a fool looks like? For one, hanging out with fools will get you hurt. Today's proverb says that your friends rub off on you. Wise friends make you wiser. Foolish friends make foolish choices which leads to painful consequences that they share with their friends. Looking to join a posse or add some friends to your network. Here's a tip from proverbs: Always look for friends that are wiser than you -- at least a few of them. Be humble enough to be the least wise person you hang out with, and you're bound to get wiser. Think: Would you say most of your friends are wise or foolish? Which ones are the best influence on you? Who do you influence to be wiser? Pray: Ask God to help you to walk with the wise and to avoid being a companion of fools. Do: Make a quick list of your three wisest friends and then find a way to spend some time with them in the next few weeks.