To Friend And Foe

January 17

"The train of brotherly love rides on tracks of concern and compassion."
William Arthur Ward

If there is a bright aspect to all man suffers, it may be that it is the litmus test for discerning who ones true friends are. It's amazing how people fall away when there is trouble. Relationships that seemed steadfast and enduring, even those interactions that seemed to be built on mutual interests and even on mutual faith, become dispensable when the line is drawn in the sand that says, 'Things have changed. I'm no longer on stable ground.’

This observation becomes profoundly evident when someone loses a job or becomes the object of scrutiny for questionable behavior. It can happen when one party in a friendship introduces others into the relationship. It is also true when couple-hood changes to single-hood.

So Ward's observation becomes a reality in the life of one whose status has undergone a transition. The true friend, who extends real brotherly concern, will be steadfast throughout the time of flux and into the friend's new circumstances. As the Bible tells us he will, “stick closer than a brother,” Proverbs 18:24. However, the one whose own comfort zone is no longer enhanced by the relationship, whose own self-esteem is no longer elevated because of having an acquaintance in a certain situation, will, for selfish reasons, abandon the relationship when his own status is jeopardized.

The one 'silver lining' in the entire upheaval of life may be that insight is given through turmoil of circumstances into the true heart of one who had been thought to be a soul-mate. Though it may be a disappointing realization, it is actually a blessing, for it is always a good thing to know an individual's true feelings and the steadfastness of ones association with him. Our advantage is that we may go forward in the light of truth. Our responsibility is that we continue to evidence God's love to all, without allowing our new insight to diminish our resolve to evidence Christ and His love to friend and foe alike.