Greater Than the Sum

A man who has friends must show himself friendly.

Proverbs 18:24

Read

Today let's look at Ecclesiastes 4:7-16. It's a familiar section of Scripture, but look at it with fresh eyes, thinking about each verse with your own life in mind. Place brackets around each of the three parts of this section, and label them.

Think

Here are my labels:

Pursue relationships over work because people make your job worth doing. How many lonely souls have put off family and devalued friends in the pursuit of their career? We'll never know. They are rich in possessions, but impoverished in relationships. What are we really working for if all of our time is spent at work, thinking about work, or on-call 24/7? Let's value our family and friends enough to turn off our phones, shut down our computers, and disconnect from work for a while. We'll be happier and more productive if we do.

Pursue relationships for our own good. Work is more fun with someone else. Life is easier with someone who can share our burdens and pick us up when we're down. The warmth of a friend is better than facing the cold alone. The world is a much safer place with a couple of friends to fight with. People who have close inter-personal relationships live longer, healthier, and happier than those who do not. And Proverbs tells us that to have friends we need to be a friend.

Pursue relationships over fame and popularity because they last longer. Solomon speaks of a king and two young men. Maybe he's talking about Saul and the next two kings of Israel. One king was old and foolish, and would not listen to instruction, while a young man was growing in popularity. Sounds like Saul and David to me. Then that young man, after being popular for a while, was overshadowed by another young man. Solomon? The point remains, though, that fame and power and popularity are fleeting. They have no lasting value. Relationships, though, give life and they last a lifetime.

Pray

Ask the Lord to help you to find time to disconnect from work or school for a while each day and focus only on family and friends.

Do

Consider your work schedule. Are you over-worked? Do you feel that you can turn off your cell-phone for a couple of hours a day and just spend time with your family? Is your laptop constantly on so you can catch those e-mails as soon as they come into your inbox? Do you have 3-4 really close friends that you spend time with, that you can share the most difficult struggles of your life with?