Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Great leaders connect with others. As John Maxwell , noted
leadership guru, says,“He who thinketh he leadeth and has no one following is
only taking a walk.” If we desire to be a leader, we need to be conscious of
our efforts to build relationships with other people. It is possible to be
successful and achieve at a certain level by our own efforts, but there are
levels of greatness that can only be achieved with the help of others. Even
when we recognize differences in others, such as political or religious
beliefs, we need to see the value they bring, because there will likely be a
time when we need their strength or talent to aid us in our own endeavors.
In the book of Genesis, there is a story about a wealthy and
successful man, named Abram, who found out that some raiding kings had
conquered a nearby city and hauled his nephew and his nephew’s family off, as
part of the spoils of war. Abram was a
foreigner to this land and was trying to establish a homestead. Even though he hadn’t been there very long,
he had apparently made some friends with local families. It appears that making
friends or allies of the local families was strategic on Abram’s part.
The scripture says, in Genesis 14:13, “Now Abram was living
near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of
whom were allied with Abram”.(NIV) The
term allied implies that it was not just a casual friendship, but there was
something formal about this relationship.
At a minimum, it was established with forethought and intention. Abram had his own household army of 318
fighting men, but he still felt it was important to establish relationships
with those around him. And even though
Abram had specific religious direction from God and knew God’s power, he still
saw the importance of befriending those around him who did not share the same
religious beliefs as himself. In fact,
those around him were following religious beliefs diametrically opposed to his.
When Abram’s nephew was in trouble, his friends came to his aid and risked
their own lives to help Abram recover his family members and their property.
They were successful at rescuing Abram’s family and getting all their
possessions back, along with others that were taken.
This life is full of struggles and trouble that hits us from
time to time. Some situations we can see our own way through, with God’s help,
but there are situations that require the help of friends. I recently helped a friend move his household
goods from one house to another and it struck me that even in something as
simple as this, there were pieces of furniture that could not be moved by one
person on their own. It takes at least
two to move a couch or a freezer! Don’t
ever forget that you can’t do everything by yourself. Always be looking for new
people to befriend. They need you and you need them.
Eccl 4:9-10 Two are better than one, because they have a
good return for their work: If one falls
down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to
help him up! (NIV)
