Finding loyal friends
I enjoy watching movies, especially the old and newer westerns. Of the modern-day westerns, I would have to say my favorite is “Tombstone.” “Tombstone” is the retelling of the retelling of the retelling of the story of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. We are obviously talking about a movie here, so who knows how accurately they portrayed reality, but in the movie Wyatt and Doc were true friends.
The fact that Wyatt was a lawman, and Doc was a gambler/gunslinger of questionable character and repute makes the friendship very unique in many respects. Doc had Wyatt’s back on more than one occasion and vice versa. There was a true bond between them, regardless of their personal differences and chosen professions in life.
It is a difficult thing to develop a friendship that lasts through thick and thin, especially in our era of people picking up stakes and moving all over the country so frequently. Solomon wants us to understand the importance of loyal friendship with his words of wisdom today: “Many will say that they are true and loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful?”
Throughout his writings, Solomon implores us to exercise caution in selecting friends. As a general rule, we are to be friendly to everyone and show the love of God at all times in our lives. The admonitions of Solomon deal with the small group of people that you can be completely and utterly transparent with. These are the people that you can trust implicitly with pretty much anything about you. As a good friend of mine has said before, “I not only trust you with my life, I trust you with my wife.”
So how do you find friends like this? How do you develop a friendship that allows you to let down all of your guards and invite someone in on that level?
Obtaining and developing friendships on this level comes much harder for some than others. I preface this next comment by saying this, “You cannot continue to blame your current life on your past life!”
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