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Do not forsake your friend and your father's
friend, and do not enter your brother's house in the day of your disaster; a
neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away. Proverbs 10:27
Generally
speaking, there is not a man here on earth that is not passing through probing situations in which he/she is looking up to God (recognizing God as the
perfect source of help) for ways out of them.
Getting
help is what we cannot do without, when we are faced with challenges, of which
many goes far and near.
And the truth is, the very first helpline that comes to
mind when we are faced with calamities are one’s own siblings or immediate
family members.
However, the scripture above is saying otherwise; GO NOT INTO
THY BROTHERS HOUSE...
Question:
Is the scripture really saying we shouldn’t go into our brothers’ house?
Trust me, we shouldn’t just take the scripture literally to mean we shouldn’t
seek them out for help in times of pains.
Of course, we can and should but, what
if: the
brother we think will be of help fails to do so, or the siblings we thought will help is
a kind of stingy and selfish kind, or that immediate family member is nowhere
to be found at that particular point in time.
Then
where else do we have to go if they which we perceive are closer to us (Immediate
family members) failed to assist or show up in our times of need.
… Your Friend and your father’s friend
forsake not... Proverbs 10:27
.
Forsake them not, why?
This is because there is a possibility of they are becoming the very ones that will
eventually render the help that even the closest brother or siblings fails to
offer.
EVERYTHING GOES DOWN TO BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE AROUND US.
Building positive relationship
with people around us: Do not forsake them in their very
own times of need; don’t wait until they are in need or in want before reaching
out to them.
Live in love with them, show them kindness, strife not with them;
esteem them better than yourself, and don’t look down on them.
Caveat:
Life works on the law of reciprocal proportion: Jesus understanding the
importance of living in love and building positive relationship with others
says: “Do to them as you want them to do
unto you”.
That
is just the truth, the measure in which you used on others, mostly the ones
that are very close to you or your neighbors; the same will also be used on
you.
If you attend to their needs in times of their pains, be sure they will do
likewise, and that characterizes the kind of Christian relationship the
scriptures talks about.
The
scripture talks about an Acts of the Apostles: They all gathers and gave their
all for the edification and needs of each other.
They simply had everything in
common. Acts 4:32-37. And the scripture says; And there is none among them that
is in need.
Who then is a friend that is closer
than a brother?
Think
about it: A friend that recognizes one's pains even without telling them, and
even goes as long as providing the way out of them. Can’t such be considered to
be a friend that is closer than a brother.
The
truth is, the friend that you don’t even considers to likely be of help, can
eventually turn outs to be the very one that will render the help you seek.
Concluding
thought: considering the verse of the scripture again, one would see that the
scripture doesn’t negate going to one’s immediate family or siblings in times
of needs; however, the very picture the scripture painted was that of building
a positive relationship with others; neighbors and friends around us.
For the
friend or neighbors we don’t expect may actually be the very one that will
render the very help we need in times of pain.
Grace
to you.
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