Today's Devotional Thought
August 17, 2011 by Rachel Piferi
True Friends
I just love watching friendships. Maybe it is because friendship is so important in my life, but I take note when I see two friends who are true friends. And I took note yesterday when my son was playing basketball on the Wii with his best friend.
I was downstairs in the kitchen when my son called to me in an excited frenzy. He kept saying, "You gotta see this. You gotta see this play. You just gotta see what Luke (his friend) did."
So, I went upstairs and watched this amazing play that both boys were so excited about. I noticed that the court had a big "TENNESSEE" on it, so I casually asked, "Oh, you guys are playing for the University of Tennessee?"
And then my son said, "I'm playing for Tennessee. Luke's playing for Kentucky."
I left the room smiling. You see, they were playing against each other. They weren't on the same basketball team, but rather were competitors on the court. And yet, my son was thrilled for his best friend when he made an awesome play against him.
I instantly thought of Romans 12:15: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." I've written on this verse before and it just came back so vividly again when I watched my son.
This is what I have written in the past:
"We live in a competitive society and it seems that we all are constantly trying to outdo the Jones. If someone buys a nice house, we want to buy a slightly nicer house. If someone goes on a nice vacation, we want to go on a nicer vacation. If someone throws a beautiful wedding for their daughter, we want to throw a slightly nicer wedding for our daughter. We are constantly comparing what we have or what we do to what those around us have or do. And, worse than just comparing, we want just as much as them and then a little more.
What this has done, I believe, is really erode our ability to be happy for others' successes and victories in life. We seem to be constantly looking at other people's lives as a benchmark for our own. And, instead of focusing on the good that the other person is experiencing in their situation, we focus on ourselves, our own deficiencies and wants, and we get jealous. And this can happen in all of our relationships from the acquaintance at work that we barely know to our very closest loved ones."
As I think about friendships, I think that this ability to rejoice with our friends is of paramount importance. You see, I've seen a lot of friendships disintegrate because competition crept in and one could not take the success of the other. And friends, nothing will kill a friendship faster than jealousy or an inability to celebrate with the other.
I am so blessed that I have a dear friend who is my biggest cheerleader and I am hers. As women, we need that support and love and encouragement so much. And I was so thrilled to see that my son has that too.
Cherish your friends. We live in such a hostile world. We need people who we can walk through life with. People who will hold our hands and our hearts as we journey through life. People who will mourn when we mourn and rejoice when we rejoice.
December