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A Person Who Wants Friends Must be Friendly
by Greg Miller By Greg Miller 2016 Friendless had no friends. He felt as though no one even wanted to be around him. At church, it seed like no one wanted to shake his hand. At work, he was the last one his supervisor asked for new ideas. "What's wrong with me?" he asked himself. "I'm pretty sure I don't have a communicable disease." At the local gym, Friendless was almost always by himself. He never participated in group activities. "I'm lonely all the time," he confided in Frank, the gym's director. Friend had lots of friends. In fact, they all wanted to be considered his best friend. At church, everyone wanted to shake his hand, hug him and invite him to participate in various activities. At work, he was asked to regularly submit new ideas to improve production within the various departments. A local non-profit organization asked him coordinate all its volunteer activities. Friend wasn't just a friend in name only. He went out of his way to help people and thought of others, not himself, first. Friend and his best buddy, Frederick, always went out of their way to befriend others. "We don't always ask, 'What can our friends do for us," said Frederick. "That's right," said Friend. "We ask, 'What can we do for our friends?" Friend and Frederick's friendly exploits were known and talked about throughout the entire community, which was called Friendsvilleopolis Town. One day, Mayor Felipe invited Friend and Frederick to be honorary lifetime mayors. The mayor proclaimed a special honorary "Frederick and Friend Day." Local media were invited to cover the event. The city council hosted a news conference to help celebrate the day. Both reporters and citizens were allowed to ask questions. TV reporter asked Frederick, "What role does being a friend play in your life?" "Friendship is one of the most important parts of my life," Frederick replied. "It's also important to have friends. Friends can inspire and encourage you in a way that even family members can't. Radio reporter asked Friend, "How has being a friend helped you to become a better person?" "Friendship has helped me to mirror the image of the Sovereign Lord in my life," Friend replied. Friend quoted Proverbs 18:24, "'A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.'" Friend concluded, "The bottom line is that being a friend helps me to show the love of God to one person at a time. And with some people that could almost be a full-time job!" To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected] or [email protected]. By Greg Miller 2018 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |