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No one wants to be lonely. It hurts. It’s depressing. It just plain stinks! So, in order to avoid loneliness a lot of people have a sort of ‘anything goes’ mentality. As long as you get yourself a group of friends, that’s what really matters. Now you gotta keep’m at all costs! To do so, what some people engage in ends up looking a whole lot more like the Hollywood star maintaining their posse than real people fostering real friendships.
How can I be a people pleaser?
How can I make sure everyone likes me and no one hates me?
How can I make myself indispensable to all my friends?
How can I guilt people into being my friend?
But who wants friendships like that? Listen, if you need to do all that, you don’t have friends, you’ve got an entourage! And entourages take a lotta work to keep together! And the payoff is never what you hoped. Like the rich man who always wonders if the people in his life just like him for his money—the people pleasing, entourage maintaining, posse traveling, homeboy ends up having the same doubts.
That’s not relationships, that’s sales team!
Speaking of, I used to love watching the TV show, “The Office.” It was hilarious. Why? Because the characters were such characters! But I never once believed those fictional characters could have deep friendships in real life—they hate each other too much! Even so, at the end of each episode we the viewer are supposed to suspend belief and buy the storyline that everyone lived happily ever after. But, it isn’t real life (hopefully this revelation doesn’t ruin anyone’s day). No one would keep working for a lunatic like Michael—in fact, Michael would have been canned after any ONE of his hundreds of mishaps. And Dwight? He would be institutionalized—He’s a psycho! Jim and Pam? Come on, they wouldn’t work there past a week for fear they’d eventually become like the rest of the dysfunctional group.
So why do so many Christians settle for “Office” type relationships. Beyond this eve, why will they do anything to protect them?
Because the alternative is even worse. They don’t want to be lonely—to avoid that, we’ll put up with a lot.
Now, we’re supposed to put up with quite a bit,
Romans 12:18 says, “18If possible, (A)so far as it depends on you, (B)be at peace with all men.”
“If possible,” Well when is it not possible?
When those you are in relationship with are pulling you away from God.
That should be a deal breaker for the Christ follower. Your relationship with Jesus is too important! Protect it at all costs—even if it costs you everything and every one!
No, relationships don’t trump everything
Look what this scripture says…
Luke 12:49 says, “I’ve come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be— Three against two, and two against three; Father against son, and son against father; Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; Mother-in-law against bride, and bride against mother-in-law.”
This scripture isn’t saying God wants to destroy the family. It’s saying following Christ Jesus might cost you big time. It could cost you your job, friends, even family relationships.
Which ones?
The ones that make you choose. Sadly, in life we will be faced with many choices to follow or reject Christ. Which way will you go?
That depends on who or what you value most. If money is your god than money will trump everything. If friends are what’s most important to you than those relationships will trump everything.
Want to live a life filled with, love, joy, peace, patience,(AO) kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23(AP) gentleness,(AQ) self-control (Galatians 5 – The fruit of the Spirit)? Then chase after God. Make sure Jesus is the single most important person in your life and never forget that…
Jesus Trumps Everything!