When you hear the word, friend, you probably conjure up a certain definition, or you may even specifically think of a certain individual acquaintance of yours. In these days of social media prevalence, the word friend has come to include relationships which in many cases are only digital or online, and some people have hundreds of “friends” they wouldn’t know if they met them on the street. I have heard this same word used in anger, “let me tell you something, friend”. But for the purpose of this article, my use of the word, friend will be limited to the understanding I grew up with.

Webster defines friend as one attached to another by affection or esteem. I recently asked a couple of family members to give me their definition of friend. One said a friend is someone who would give, truly expecting nothing in return. The other said a friend is someone I would enjoy spending a holiday weekend with. My definition? A friend is the guy I could or would call at three in the morning if I needed help, or from whom I would expect the same call. There are many people I would describe as friends, but in this truest sense of the word, the number is quite small.

In those moments when we are introspective and being completely honest with our self, I think all of us have areas of our lives where we feel odd, different, or maybe even a little weird. We have thoughts or opinions we would not share with most people, but we do feel free doing so with a true friend. We know ahead of time that even if we share those secret thoughts, they will not think less of us, even if they completely disagree.

Religious beliefs aside, many people regard the book of Proverbs as being a great source of wisdom, and Proverbs 18:24 states that “one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. When I was growing up, my brother who is four years younger than me, seemingly had a gift for getting into scrapes with the two boys who lived next door. Even when I disagreed with my brother, I would come to his defense 100% of the time. Therefore, when I read the words, “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother”, it makes a strong statement to me. So I ask myself, how many “friends” do I have? How many do you have?

True friendship is a precious commodity, and something to be closely guarded. I have come to believe if you have two or three true friends, you are rich indeed. What do you think? Have a great week!