You've Got A Friend In Me

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 4:10

Big Idea: We need each other to expose and defeat the traps of the devil

How many of us would say if polled, that we prefer to spend all of our time alone? If I had to guess, I would say that none of us want to be that way. I see people all the time who purposefully avoid contact with others and it makes me wonder what caused them to be that way. Why do they want to shut themselves out of the lives of others? Is it ok to be this way?

I’m not talking about whether or not a person chooses to be married. I’m referring to people who choose not to allow others to be a part of their lives – such as friendships.

One thing I have learned over the years is that Satan attacks in many different ways. Every time that I have been attacked by Satan and been alone, I’ve seemed to always fall into the trap he has set before me. So what does that have to do with having friends? Well, I was reading in Ecclesiastes 4 and it talks about this very thing. Verse 7 says “I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can.” It goes on to say “But then he asks himself, ‘who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?’ It is all so meaningless and depressing.”

So basically this guy is a work-a-holic and he obviously has no wife, children, or family. He works and works and works, but doesn’t have anyone to share his wealth with. Now I don’t know why he is in this situation, but he seems to recognize that something is missing. Verses 9 – 12 says “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” If you haven’t caught on to this yet, God is telling us that we NEED other people! How can we withstand the attacks of the enemy by ourselves? We can’t! The quarterback of a football team doesn’t win the game without the other players protecting and supporting him and then they win as a team. Likewise, we NEED people in our lives to help protect and support us during the good and bad times.