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Making Friends
Acts 20:35 'In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (NIV)
 Of all the common human needs, the greatest is the need to be loved. It's a two-sided coin. We need to be loved and we need to feel that we're able to give love in return. Psychologists tell us that one of the fundamental bases for a healthy self-esteem is the sense of belonging, the feeling that there is a person or people for whom we are special. We are social beings. Even the most ardent introvert on the planet will reach a point of insanity if cut off from human society for too long. We crave love because we were created in the image of a Being who not only feels love, or even decides to love, but is the very essence of love. We are made in the likeness of a Triune God, a God whose very nature is, in some mysterious way, all about community. So, loneliness is unnatural for us. One of the keys to building friendships is learning to show an interest in other people. It's not easy: we're often so preoccupied with our own concerns. However, if your social antennae are all bent inwards, you will not attract other people. Years ago, the New York Telephone Company made a detailed study of phone conversations and found that the most common word used on the phone, by far, is the personal pronoun 'I'. Not many people will take an interest in someone who is not interested in them. Try talking to people about their interests. What you sow, you reap: your interest in others will eventually be returned. In the end, it is better to give than to receive.
Prayer: 'Help me, Lord, to develop lasting friendships. Bring me out of any loneliness I might be feeling, and help me to show to a genuine interest in others.'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
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