Value What You Have
Matthew 13
KJV
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46+ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
There are various means by which we come into riches ! Some inherit it, others search for and work for it! How we value or cherish things depends on how we come by them.
The same applies to how we come by friends, some accidentally meet, others deliberately seek out a person to be his/her friend.
Like riches, how you come by a friend is seen through how you treat or value him/her. If someone you call a friend treats you casually, know that he/she never looked for you. He/she does not desire you as a friend. To him, you are an acquaintance and not a friend.
There is nothing wrong with being an acquaintance, it is a relationship; just that it is a low-level relationship. And take note, low-level relationships come with low-level commitments! Do not expect much from such a relationship.
On the other hand, a friendship that is treasured and highly valued is seen through the treatment one receives.
It is a relationship of high commitment to each other. Read this example,
Ruth 1
KJV
16+ And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Do you see the difference?
Is it not in affliction or in adversity that we know who our true friends are? No wonder Naomi treasured and valued Ruth, a relationship that God used to bring the Saviour into the World! Reads it;
Ruth 4
KJV
17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
So now we know, how some treat you indicates your status and how he/she rate your relationship! An acquaintance or a friend, casual or real. One loves in words the other in deeds.
1 John 3
KJV
18+ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
An acquaintance loves in words, but a friend loves in deeds! Beloved, there are more acquaintances than there are friends in the world so value and cherish those you have as friend.
Do not make this mistake that many have made by misconstruing an acquaintance for a friend only to regret it later. Have you not heard/experienced someone you regard as a friend denying you?
It is better to have fewer friends than many who are acquaintances.
A word to the wise!