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We are losing what little social skills we had and don\u2019t know\u00a0how to connect with others. People are becoming more isolated with a frustrated feeling of loneliness and emptiness. Relationships have become superficial and shallow. We cheapen what friendship really means with terms like Face Book friends or BFF. It\u2019s a sad commentary to think we can now have more Face Book \u201cfriends\u201d than we will ever meet in a lifetime.<\/p>\n
Another reason people don\u2019t have more friends is because friendships are time consuming. We are busy people and don\u2019t have the time to interact with others. We are in a hurry. We rush here; we rush there. We feel we must be busy 24\/7. That\u2019s why the term 24\/7 even came into existence. We can\u2019t slow down enough to actually interact with others.<\/p>\n
Friendships take a great deal of effort. Sometimes it\u2019s all we can do to make it to and from work. When we get home we just want to crash or vegetate. We don\u2019t have the energy to get out and meet people. That\u2019s why computer chat rooms are popular. We can chat with millions of \u201cfriends\u201d in our pajamas. Unfortunately these types of \u201cfriendships\u201d are misleading and superficial. Virtual reality is not real reality.<\/p>\n
Friendships are risky. They can bring joy; they can also bring heartache. Having friendships makes us vulnerable. We take a chance on being rejected or hurt.<\/p>\n
Friendships can be difficult. We all have baggage we bring into a friendship. It can be difficult dealing with different personalities. It\u2019s been said that it\u2019s easy to be a Christian if you don\u2019t have to deal with people. There might be some truth there.<\/p>\n
Friendships require us to be more interested in others than ourselves. It\u2019s a me, me, me world and most of us feel the world revolves around us \u2013 or at least wish it revolved around us. Who wants to be friends with a self centered person? Dale Carnegie said, \u201cYou can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people, than you can in two years trying to get other people interested in you.\u201d That\u2019s something to think about.<\/p>\n
And lastly some of us don\u2019t have more friendships because we are introverts and enjoy being hermits. We just aren\u2019t all that friendly. Proverbs 18:24 says that \u201ca man who has friends must be friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making friends might be difficult and require a certain amount of sacrifice. However, the sacrifice might be worth it. After all, it has been proven that we lead healthier, happier lives with friends. The reasons we\u2019ve listed above for not having more friends are probably more like excuses \u2013 not reasons.<\/p>\n
American author, political activist, and lecturer Helen Keller said, \u201cIt is better to walk in the dark with a friend than in the light alone.\u201d She should know \u2013 being blind and deaf. She attributed much of her success to her friend Anne Sullivan.<\/p>\n
No wonder God says, \u201cPity the man who has no friends.\u201d (Ecclesiastes 4:10)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the last couple of blogs we have explored the importance of having friends. Medical and psychological experts say it\u2019s a good idea. In fact studies say that maintaining positive relationships should rank up there with healthy eating and exercise … Continue reading