Do friends make everything better?
Rarely does the Teacher praise and celebrate something. When he does, we need to pay attention. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, he does, and that something is friendship.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
It has been said that you do not have to have friends to live. You will never go to a doctor who will prescribe you 10mg of friendship, for instance. However, while you do not have to have friends to live, it can be questioned if life is worth living without friends.
Often, family are people that we probably wouldn’t even care about at all if we were not related to them and then, they can become indispensable. Meanwhile, friends are people who come into your life and are in it because they choose to be in it for whatever reason. While you can form friendships on a utilitarian basis, such as reaching a common goal together, the best of friendships come with those who build one another up in character and aid them in difficult times.
When I started going through my divorce, having friends around was essential for me. I had people I knew who had walked down the path of divorce before and were there to guide me through it. I joined a support group for people walking through divorce.
I moved to a new campus in a new city and new state. Who do I have to rely on? Friends. There are things I cannot do for myself due to physical disability, namely having a steel rod on my spine. When I order packages with pet supplies for little Shiro, I have to have a friend bring them up the stairs to my apartment because I cannot lift them on my own. I also count on my friends to guide me in social situations.
I also treasure that many of the professors here on campus have become people I can call friends. I have one that has had me join him for trivia night at another location on a monthly basis and even came to his house to play Diplomacy with him and some other professors. I have another who really understands video games and we have connected through that. My boss and I now get along great.
Then, there’s the medium of the internet. Because of this, I have met people who I would not have any chance of ever meeting in real life most likely. I get together with an Aquinas group on Thursday nights via Zoom as one of the token Protestants to make sure they don’t fall into heresy and answer Bible questions. I have supporters who reach out to me and scholars and others I have met first through this medium.
The Teacher is right here. Friends make everything better. To those of you who are out there and I count as friends, thank you. I treasure you.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)
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