“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” ~ Proverbs 27:6
REFERENCE:
Our text sounds like an oddity; ‘wounds of a friend.‘ This is not how many of us see friendship; we see it as a safe space, a platform for expressing and receiving love, and it is. However, there is more; friendship hurts sometimes, and many who do not understand this have been hurt by it and have vowed to be loners, unwilling to mingle with others because of such hurts.
We are humans, limited in knowledge and a bag of emotions; we will make mistakes, say a word out of turn, and hurt one another. This does not negate the value of friendship. Love must be the foundation of all friendships, which helps in navigating through times of offense or hurt. Solomon said, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friends.” We fail to see that sparks (of fire) fly in this process, but both irons are better for it.
Friendship can wound, but it makes you better, calling you to grow in the agape love of God. Many avoid friendships because they don’t want to be hurt. Truly, if you stay away, no one will hurt you, but you will miss the opportunity to be loved, celebrated, and protected. Some don’t attend church again because “Church folks hurt me; I thought they were supposed to be Christlike.” Staying away may keep you from getting hurt, but it exposes you to more considerable dangers.
Many animals froze to death during a cold winter. The porcupines saw the situation and decided to group together to keep warm. This way, they covered and protected themselves; but the quills (spiky hair) of each one wounded his closest companion. After a while, they decided to distance themselves from each other & they began to die alone and frozen. So, they had to choose: ‘Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth.’
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions to receive warmth and heat from others. This way, they were able to survive. Friendships, marriage, church, etc., are not about perfect people; it is where individuals learn to live with the imperfections of others. Friendship must be seen as a privilege to love others, not a project to change them.
Better to be surrounded by warm pokes than be frozen in solitude. As tough as it sounds, David said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” There is much-needed good that comes from it.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Psalm 141:5, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 27:17, and Hebrews 10:24-25
REFLECTION:
Have you cut off a friend because they hurt you? Do you find yourself avoiding people because you don’t want to be hurt? Have you stayed out of church because you think they are all hypocrites? Have you stopped being open to your spouse because you think they like to poke a hole in your ideas? Be careful; you may be setting yourself up for big trouble. Isolation would soon make you the prey of satan’s deception and eventual destruction (freeze to death).
To get the best sharpening, Iron needs Iron.