Have you ever been banned from seeing a friend?, which you liked very much ? Or maybe you had to change schools or go to another city and leave your peers, with whom you got very close ?
- What were you going through then? ?
- Can a person live without other people, so be ,lonely island " ?
Friendship
You probably know people, who are always happy to be together, they have a lot to say to each other, one can do a lot for the other… We call such people friends.
Man is a social being, i.e.. each of us owes a lot to other people, but everyone also wants to be needed by others. Some say, that there are no bad people, and you, which we consider bad, they are unhappy people. There are hidden values in every human being, but they will only come to life then, when they meet favorable conditions of admiration, fair evaluation, trust or encouragement… on terms, which is perfect for friendship.
Each of us chooses our friends for ourselves. Often our friend is a friend or colleague from the same class or sports club. Sometimes it just lives nearby, or it is someone you meet by accident, e.g.. during the holidays… Despite such different circumstances, where you can meet a "friend", certain conditions exist, that every friendship must fulfill.
Friendship is doing good
You think more about it, to give something to a friend rather than to receive from him. True friends do much good to each other. Because everyone is different : one faster in it, and the other in something else, therefore friends bestow on it, what they can, one supports one another, they are ready to run to help in various difficulties. In this mutual witnessing of good to one another, they experience joy.
Friendship is honesty
They trust each other, they are honest with themselves. From a friend, we even take a tart note, because we trust, that at the bottom of these unpleasant remarks lies concern for us and trust, that we can get better and better.
Friendship is discretion
Friendship often requires the skill of silence, respecting other people's affairs and secrets. Only such a friend can be trusted, who won't tell anyone, what he knows about us.
Is it just you and me, and no one else ?
There is a proverb : "A friend of my friend is my friend". But how often the feeling of friendship is combined with selfishness. A friend - only mine and no one else. Friendship with another person is considered a betrayal, sign, that he no longer needs us. We urgently combat feelings of jealousy towards our friends' friends. Let's remember, that the wider a person's heart is, the more he is willing to testify to people, the more friends he usually has.
True friendship is of great value to every human being, whether, whether he is young or old, believer or non-believer. We, however, as Christians, realize Christian love through friendship. Christ speaks about her :
This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, when someone lays down his life for his friends” (J 15, 12-13).
Are we ready to love others like Christ? ? Let's remember : through true friendship we realize God's kingdom, we actively increase love and goodness in His Kingdom.
Companionship
You spend a large part of the day at school with your peers. You know each other well, you are a group of colleagues. To, what connects you with each other, it's a common goal. Your current goal is to acquire knowledge and pass the exams for the school of your choice. In other peer groups, this goal will be different, e.g.. in a sports club, everyone strives to achieve the best sports results, colleagues in the factory want to produce a large amount of good goods. This goal sets the group apart from the rest of the surrounding society. However, none of you essentially made that decision, what kind of friends he will have in the class or sports club. It is different with friends, which we choose ourselves. However, since you are already this group, you must all do your best to do the best possible work. Ten, who does it, he is a good friend, and who doesn't, this one is a bad friend.
Help and cooperation
A bad colleague only cares about his own interests. Maybe someone be, for example. a very good student, but he will be hated by the class precisely because of selfishness. A good colleague will help in a difficult situation, will be happy to replace a colleague at work, will stand up for him, when he sees, that others want to hurt him, exploit or overwork.
Kindness
There is mutual kindness in a good group of friends. It cannot be indifferent,
will our friend add, or not. A colleague must feel, that in his troubles and difficulties he is neither lonely nor abandoned, because he has kind friends.
Solidarity
Colleagues are connected not only by the common room, but most of all responsibility for achieving a common goal. Therefore, they must support each other and help each other. However, it is important to distinguish between real and false solidarity. Can you support such a "package", that is, a group of colleagues, who, for example. they do not let, that one of them would learn better, he had a better performance or a better behavioral grade ? Or who interfere with the implementation of all good ideas just because, that they themselves did not give them a beginning ? You will see easily, how much selfishness is in this attitude, tight jealousy, and even stupidity.
Consider, are you a good friend ? remember, that colleagues have the right to make the same demands of you, what you put on them.
You must also always remember this, that in camaraderie your Christianity is being realized. You are bound to Christ through baptism, and through you He is to be present in your group of friends. Your calling is to draw others to Christ through the testimonies of your life. Therefore, the peer group has not only purely human value, but also God's.
Neighborhood
People, who in the city live in the same block, and in the countryside the inhabitants of nearby houses, we call neighbors. This neighborhood is not a common goal, like camaraderie, but on spatial proximity. They meet often, they know each other, they know a lot about themselves. They have a lot of common concerns and troubles : maybe a shared kitchen, counter, a laundry room or even a common staircase. Hence, for a sick person, e.g.. the noisy behavior of the neighbor's children can be hard to bear… e.t.c.
The problems of neighborhood in the countryside are a bit different, differently in the city. In the countryside, the neighbors need each other more. They help each other with home and work troubles, They are more interested in each other and are more connected with each other than in the city. However, it happens more than once, that the neighbors hate each other, and this is often for a trivial reason (e.g.. the neighbor's hens enter someone else's yard). Then the neighbors instead of helping each other and making life easier, they harm each other.
We encounter another social disease in the city, which we call indifference. It is not uncommon to have an accident, that the neighbors don't know each other completely, although they live next to each other for years. They don't care about the neighbor. How eloquent and accusing the lyrics of this song are :
,,Those who love no hearts, who love no hearts.
Everyone wants to play. Everyone wants to be happy.
Those who love no hearts, who love no hearts.
A neighbor's son died today, next to the dance and buzz, No one sees the tears.
So righteous anger arises in the heart, which he loves,
So righteous anger awakens, the wrath of a good God.
Those who love no hearts, who love no hearts.
Everyone wants to play, everyone wants to enjoy.
Someone so bad, the soul tears with pain,
He looks at the door in vain, no one will visit him,
Nobody will console him.
So right anger…
Those who love no hearts, who love no hearts.
Everyone wants to play, everyone wants to enjoy.
Someone old and alone there. Who will give him bread today? ?
Poverty has entered the threshold, hunger stares in his eyes.
Nobody will feed him.
So right anger…”
(Muse. and words : A. Duval).
This is very common. Consider : what do you expect from your neighbors ? What are you giving them ? Do you help your neighbors, you are interested in them, you are gentle and kind to them ? Or maybe you are making their lives difficult ?
Christ the Lord gave us the commandment of love and showed us, how to implement them. Our Christianity is realized in our neighborly relations.
How will I answer God ?
You understood better, what is friendship, camaraderie and neighborhood. You are realizing your Christianity in these social groups. Consider : what you give to your friends, colleagues, neighbors ? What are they still expecting from you? ? What could you change ? Maybe you could be less selfish towards your friend ? Does your intercourse with your neighbors require more delicacy ? Couldn't you be friendlier in your class ?
Do you include these needs in your prayer ? Could you honestly sing the last verse of the song :
“The night is passing, dawn is rising; night passes, dawn is rising.
Good news is flowing out into the world. A new song calls us.
We want to give you joy, we want to give love. A new song calls us. Good news is flowing out into the world :
The night goes by, dawn is rising.
Because any pain will heal the heart, who loves and when sad he will see the smile of God in you ".
■ Think :
1. What is true friendship?
2. What characterizes good colleagues ?
3. What your neighbors expect of you ?
■ Remember:
48. What a Christian should be like for people who are close to each other ?
For people who are close to each other, a Christian should be a service-minded neighbor, good friend, and for some a true friend.
■ Task :
1. Consider your class. You are finishing primary school this year. Write, what to do, so that all classmates can pass to school, which they chose.
2. In my examination of conscience, I will pay attention to silence. Was I gentle and considerate towards my neighbors in this respect? ?
3. Name known to you from Scripture, examples of true friendship from history and literature.
4. Read from 1 Samuel chap. 18, 1-5 about David's friendship with Jonathan.
5. In the words of the Scriptures quoted below,. search for items, which emphasize the value of friendship. How do you explain, that the word of God deals with such natural and simple things ?
“A faithful friend, a mighty defense, who found him, he found a treasure.
There is no reward for a faithful friend, nor of equal importance for its great value. A faithful friend is the medicine of life ; those who fear the Lord will find him " (Cheese 6, 14-16). “Don't abandon an old friend ; the new cannot be placed higher than him " (Cheese 9, 10).
"I will not be ashamed to cover my friend and I will not hide from him" (Cheese 22-25).