Proverbs 18:24

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

How many “Friends” do you have on Facebook? How many “Followers” do you have on Twitter? How many “Fans” on your business or organization page? You can have hundreds if not thousands of these kinds of friends, but is that a guarantee that when the hard times come, and you need some real, tangible help…your so-called “friends” will be there for you? Hardly.

Outside of our social media world we can have lots of companions and friends, of course, but once again, how many of those relationships will step up to the plate when you hit hard times? How many of them will walk away when you no longer have anything of interest to offer them? Sadly, some of us have brothers and/or sisters who love us and will always be family, but you can’t really rely on them for much. In today’s proverb Solomon is urging us to seek out friends that will stick closer to us than even our own family members.

Solomon’s dad had plenty of trouble in this department between his first boss, King Saul, his most trusted advisor Ahitophel, and even his rebellious son, Absalom. On the other hand, his best friend, Jonathan, advised and protected David from his father (King Saul) as well as those that went against his kingship. Jonathan was so committed to this that he eventually gave his life for David. Do you have a Jonathan in your life? Are you a Jonathan in somebody else’s life?

Jesus Christ is called a “friend of sinners” (Lk. 7:24) and He has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Jesus is truly a friend that sticks closer than a brother, so I hope you have Him in that number one slot in your life. Additionally, we all need to pray about finding the kinds of friends that will stick with us when we face the toughest of times…and we need to make sure we are joyfully playing that part in someone else’s life, too.