Friends??

i really feel like their are words out there that are overused so much that the immensity of their meanings have diminished. words like love, for example. "i love that shirt," "i love that restaurant." love has been attached to so many things that we almost need another word to express a true feeling like love. i know i am not the only person who believes that words like this are being overused, in fact i have many conversations about this topic with like-minded individuals. however, over the past few years i think i have discovered there is a new word that needs to be added to the overused word bank...friends.

i am begining to believe that all too often we use the word friend to describe someone who in fact, is not really a friend. i'm not saying that these people aren't good people or people that are difficult to get along with. on the contrary, these people are ones whom you can joke with and be amicable towards, however, are they really your friends? even people you "hang out" with on occassions, are they really your friends? as i began thinking about this i actually looked up the word friend in the dictionary, lame i know, but this dictionary describes a friend as "a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard." it later describes friend as "rare." i also looked up other definitions of friends. "a true friend would be loyal not matter what the cost"..."someone to laugh, cry and feel with. they are an inspiration, a person who will lend a helping hand"..."a true friend stabs you in the front"... i thought that last one was funny. while all of these definitions of friends are good, i wanted to turn to the one place i knew would really tell me what a friend should be. "For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friends.." Job 6:14. "...a friend loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17.

while reading all these definitions and thoughts about what it means to be and have "friends" i realized that we do in fact overuse the word friend. i think the dictionary was right, friends are rare, very rare. as i read the descriptions, especially from the bible i realized i haven't had very many real friends and more importantly, i haven't been a real friend to many people. we are all selfish, granted some are more consumed by it than others, but the true question is how can we actually become a friend to others? someone who loves unconditionally, no matter what the cost? that's a heavy load, but one that we should strive for and is totally worth it.

during the process of creating this post, the people who fit this definition have been placed in the forefront of my mind and sadly there is only a small number of them. over the next few days i'm going to tell those people how much i appreciate them being a true friend and i will spend the rest of my life asking God that he will help me be a real friend to others so i'm not just another person someone overuses that word for.

peace and love (and hopefully "friends")