It’s hot… I mean really hot. 52C. You walk outside and the heat hits you. You unlock the car and jump in. The shock of the red hot seat on the back of your legs near stops your heart. The cabin temperature is 10 degrees hotter and you clench your teeth and suck through the spittle, trying to avoid searing your throat and lungs. Touching the steering wheel is impossible except with the help of a handkerchief placed between your hand and the boiling bakalite. And touching the top of the gearstick leaves a blistered image of the gear pattern on the palm of your hand. IT IS HOT!
Moments like these can be debilitating, irritating, stressful and downright uncomfortable.
But you reach into the eski and pull out a cold drink. Psssst! Opened and poured in… refreshing relief. Oh, that feels good. The heat melts away as the body absorbs the coolness. A brighter and happier disposition returns swiftly.
Reliable friends who do what they say are like cool drinks in sweltering heat–refreshing!
Proverbs 25:13 MSG
Reliable friends… a rare find in a world of individuals who tend to look out for number one – themselves.
But, as Christians, we are called to put others first.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3,4
Have you ever been disappointed when a friend cancels because they have found something else better to do? Even worse is the one who says, “Oh, I forgot.” translated, “Our time together wasn’t as important as what I ended up doing at that time.”
We must be slow to make a commitment but swift to fulfill one.
Are you a reliable friend? Do you say what you mean, and mean what you say?
Are you refreshing your friends?