Friends Are the Best Medicine

In this earthly age of fast friendship, fleeting romance and quickie divorces, we still cling to at least one old fashioned relationship: friendship. And we probably always will. Why? The answer is simple. Friends make us feel good—about ourselves and about life.

When you have a friend, “The world suddenly looks different; what was commonplace yesterday is filled with magic today.” Friendship makes it possible to contribute to another person, to share sorrow with someone else, and to love our fellow human beings. It is the key to the lock of life’s meaning. It may be concluded, “friends act as buffers against stress. Thy modify the impact of stressful events on the body.

Jesus is the friend of all persons; He is that person who will share your sorrows, who loves you unconditionally and He is the key to the lock of life’s meanings. He is that buffer that is always their for you.

There’s a great longing for friendship today. That’s why greeting cards and advertisers of products almost always show a gathering of friends. It is not easy to find and keep friends when one constantly changes their residence, occupation and interests. Most of us have friends scattered across the United States, and even if we do stay in one place, few of us sit still for very long. Between tending to household chores, family, children and work—something usually falls between the cracks. Unfortunately it’s often our friends.

Still, a frantic lifestyle is only partly to blame for our floundering friendships. The real problem is that we’ve forgotten what it takes to be a good friend. “The first rule of friendship is to give of yourself. If you’re occupied with gratifying yourself—climbing the career ladder or just being alone every day.

Jesus is the ultimate friend, He has said in (John 15, 13) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.

Friends Are the Best Medicine

If you wish to master the fine art of friendship follow these simple Christian rules.

Be prepared to work. It’s a false notion that friendships are easy. “Getting through the tough times, offering encouragement when the other desperately needs it…the main work of friendship consists of just such homely tasks.”

Jesus offers encouragement through His spoken and written words.

Make time. If friends are being squeezed out of your life, it’s time to rearrange priorities. Ask your friend to share an activity you usually do alone.

3. Seek friends outside marriage. Many of us forgo friends of the opposite sex when we take our wedding vows. Why? “The threat of sexuality is too threatening to marriage.” Even our friends of the same sex are left behind as we turn to our spouses to fill our friendship needs. “That’s a mistake.” We overburden them and limit ourselves.

Jesus was a friend to all.

Go where friends may be found. You want find friends if you are sitting home every day. Volunteer at the church you attend and at support groups in your area. Connect with people of like interest. Don’t overlook the value of social contacts at work. And don’t close out people of different ages and races. “Build a wide network of friends.”

Share simple moments. If you must always do something in particular when you’re together, it might not be a true friendship. Friends are not just people with whom we share activities. They are people who, quite literally, let each other be themselves.

Don’t look for perfection. Forget those TV commercials—that always show friends having a good time—it’s not always good times with a friend. There’s competition and envy and times when your friends let you down. Fortunately, good friendships survive their flaws.

Jesus is the only perfect friend; He will never let you down and His friendship last a lifetime.

Test Your “Friend-Ability”

Are your friendships in trouble? To find out, answer yes or no to the following questions, then check your answers with the scoring instructions at the end of the quiz.

Do you forget to do things you promised?

Do you always try to top another’s story?

Do you exclude others from your clique or friends?

Do you tell your friends what’s wrong with them?

Friends Are The Best Medicine

Do you always like to be the center of attention?

If you make a loan to a friend, do you let everyone know?

Do you often ask friends to do trivial task for you?

Do you drop in and overstay your welcome?

Would you drop everything if a friend needed your help?

Are you generally in good humor?

Do you easily find good things to say about others?

Can you keep a secret?

The correct answers for questions 1 through 8 is no; the correct answers for questions 9 through 12 is yes.

11-12 correct: You have friends because you are a friend—reliable, gracious and giving.

7-10 correct: You have friends, but some of them stick with you in spite of yourself. Hold them close, and try to make one more true friend each year.

4-6 correct: You’re looking for friends but are probably unable to find them. You need to fine-tune your friendship skills.

Friends can help you livelonger:

Researchers have found that people with more social contacts—whether from marriage, close friends, relatives or church—were two to five times more likely to outlive people with fewer contacts.

Friends help keep your heart healthy:

Behavioral science researchers have found that people in less-developed societies who had close relationships with neighbors had lower blood pressure and fewer symptoms of heart problems and were less depressed than people in advanced societies with fewer neighborly ties.

Exactly how do friends affect us biologically? One theory is that friends share health information. The low-fat recipe that Karen Brown Whittington gives to Diane Haney or the “quit smoking” tip that someone gives to another can have a direct effect on the friend’s health.

Another theory is that friends tend to give each other emotional comfort. And that may have an effect at the cellular level according to studies done at a prominent university school of medicine, people in tense situations have lower levels of “free fatty acids” (a risk factor for heart disease) when a friend is present. It may be concluded, “friends act as buffers against stress. They modify the impact of stressful events on the body.”

So folks “Follow The Golden Rule of Life and Friendship”

Extend your hand in friendship, just as Jesus has extended his hand to each and every one of us…Amen