Learning to distinguish between true and false friend
02/24/2017
Sirach 6:5-17
A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases
enemies, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings. Let your acquaintances be
many, but one in a thousand your confidant. When you gain a friend, first test
him, and be not too ready to trust him. For one sort is a friend when it suits
him, but he will not be with you in time of distress. Another is a friend who
becomes an enemy, and tells of the quarrel to your shame. Another is a friend,
a boon companion, who will not be with you when sorrow comes. When things go
well, he is your other self, and lords it over your servants; But if you are
brought low, he turns against you and avoids meeting you. Keep away from your
enemies; be on your guard with your friends. A faithful friend is a sturdy
shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such
as he who fears God finds; For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his
friend will be like himself.
Today I want
to talk to you about “friends.” Raise your hands if you have at least one
friend. Raise your hand if you think everyone is your friend. By “friend” I
mean someone who you like and who likes you, someone you sit next to at lunch
and play with at recess, someone who helps you with your homework and hugs you when
you cry, someone who knows your secrets and your story, and someone for whom
you do those same things.
Do you know
how many friends I have? I have 5,000 friends, at least that’s what Facebook
tells me! Apparently, I cannot have any more friends than that because Facebook
won’t let me add more friends. But do I really have 5,000 friends? No, I don’t
sit next to 5,000 people at lunch or play with 5,000 people at recess, nor do
they know my secrets or my story. A priest in high school once told me that if
I have two (2) good friends in my whole life, I should consider myself very
lucky. Boys and girls, faithful friends are always few and far-between.
In the first
reading today, Sirach talks about “true friends” and he does NOT mean Facebook
friends. Sirach says one way to test a true friend is to see what they do when
you get into trouble. Your true friends will stick by you in times of trouble
but your false friends will desert you and leave you high and dry. Furthermore,
he says when you argue with some friends – they cheer for Texas A&M but you
cheer for the Razorbacks – they become your enemies. You see, true friends will
like us and love us even when we are in trouble, and even when we disagree with
them. Do you know what my Facebook friends do when I post something they don’t
like? They “un-friend” me. But that’s okay because then I can add more true
friends and get back up to 5,000! Boys and girls, being good friends doesn’t
mean you’ll always agree on everything, but when you disagree you still love
each other. Only a true friend will do that.
Boys and
girls, you really cannot be friends with 5,000 people, even if Facebook says
you can. You’ll be lucky to have two (2) really good and really true friends in
your whole life. But you can and should be friendly to everyone, whether they
are friend or foe. Here are three things Sirach says in how we can be friendly
to everyone. First, speak pleasantly and politely to and about everyone. My mom
always taught us, “If you cannot say something nice about someone, don’t say
anything at all.” Second, be nice to others even when they are not being nice
to you. Remember that Tim McGraw song, where he sang, “Always be humble and
kind.” Be kind to everyone. And third, always act like Jesus. Ask yourself when
you’re in a tough situation: “What would Jesus do about this person?” and
follow his example.
Speak
pleasantly, act kindly, and love like Jesus, and you will be friendly with
everyone, even if you can’t be their best friend. And a good place to start
doing those three things is with our “friends” on Facebook.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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