There are two aspects to the part of the proverb which says that those with unreliable friends will come to ruin. The first is that if you spend most of your time with unreliable people, whom you think are your friends, when trouble strikes you will have no one to aid you in dealing with your problems. The second is that if you hang out with unreliable people trouble will soon find you. However, there are people who will be your friend and stand by you when times are bad. Seek out such people.
This psalm reminds me of how great this universe is. Every time I look at the night sky I am reminded of the greatness of God. He made the moon, the planets, and the stars and put them in their positions. Yet, He nevertheless cares about individual people. He cares about each and every person. More than that, He has given people power over His creation that is subordinate only to His own. When I consider nature around me I am reminded that our God is majestic and powerful. Praise His holy name!
Everyone on the ship carrying Paul had been busy fighting the storm for several days, including the passengers. In that time, none of them had time to eat (it is not clear if they ate at all during the storm, but one would think they must have eaten at least a little bit). They were beginning to despair (that is me reading between the lines). Paul called them all together, reminded them that he had warned them against setting out, then he told them that God had revealed to him that everyone on the ship would survive the coming shipwreck. A short time after this, the sailors attempted to abandon ship in the middle of the night, leaving the passengers to their fate. Paul warned the Roman commander against allowing them to do so. Just as dawn was breaking, Paul reminded everyone that God had said they would all survive and got them all to eat. When the sun came up, they saw an beach and attempted to run the ship aground on it.
In this account, Paul’s reminder that he had warned against leaving Fair Haven was not an “I told you so.” Rather, Paul was reminding them of his previous, accurate prediction in order to lend weight to his current prediction. This is an important point. We should avoid telling people “I told you so,” except in circumstances where it is critical that this time they take our advice. Be very careful to listen to God before using this tactic.
This passage starts with the genealogy of some of those who returned from the Babylonian Exile. Here we come to understand why the writer has spent so much time on genealogies so far. He was setting up the record to show how those who returned from the Exile were able to trace their ancestry back to Jacob. The writer then concludes his genealogy with the genealogy of Saul’s descendants.
Then the writer begins telling the history of which most of the rest of this book is composed. He starts with the death of Saul. The part of this I want to highlight today is the response of the people of Jabesh-gilead to the Philistines displaying Saul’s remains. The first act of Saul as king was to mount a rescue of the city of Jabesh-gilead from an enemy who wanted to mutilate all the men living in that city. The people of that city showed their gratitude by mounting a raid to retrieve the remains of Saul and his sons. They then respectfully buried those remains. This shows us that despite his flaws, Saul did some good things as king of Israel.
It is the Lord who grants wisdom. God is the source of knowledge and understanding. Those who are honest and righteous gain common sense as a natural result, because God designed the Universe that way. If we seek wisdom and follow where it leads, we will find and come to know God. If we seek God and follow where He leads, we will find and know wisdom.
Every time I look into the night sky I am reminded of God’s majesty and power. Yet, because of this psalm, I am also reminded how much He loves me. But not just how much He loves me, how much He loves every single individual. It is interesting because this psalm combined with the night sky reminds me that I am little and insignificant. Yet I am also reminded that God wants me to use what little insignificant power which I possess to help those around me. I will praise God for how He has made the Universe to remind me that I am loved and that I am to love.
Today’s passage looks like three different pieces, and in some ways it is. However, these three pieces fit together. Jesus tells us not to worry. Just look around, birds do not farm, or otherwise gather and store up food, yet God provides them with food to eat. Wild flowers do not spin, or otherwise manufacture clothes, yet are they not more beautiful than anything we could hope to buy? God knows that we need food and clothes. We do not need to worry about how we will get them. God will provide our needs.
One of my favorite verses is right here in Jesus’ teaching us not to worry. Instead of worrying about food and clothes and shelter, let us seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. If we pursue God’s kingdom with the same energy and urgency we are used to spending on satisfying our physical needs and desires, we will find those physical needs being met without us seeming to put any effort into them whatsoever.
The next piece of this lesson is that whatever standard we use to judge others, that is the standard by which we will be judged. I never realized before how closely this fits with something my father taught me. My father taught me not to trust someone who is sure that everyone is out to betray them. That person is sure that everyone is out to betray them is because they will readily betray others. In many ways, that is what Jesus was teaching from the opposite perspective. We will judge others by the standard by which they can best judge us. However, my father would have been quick to point out that there is more to Jesus’ teaching than the reverse of the lesson from my father to which I just referred. Jesus was telling us that if we judge others by the standard by which we would like to be judged we will find ourselves living as people who deserve to be judged that way.
Then there is the third piece of this. If we do not ask, we will not receive given. If we do not seek, we will not find. If we do not knock, no one will open the door for us. On the other hand, if we ask, we will receive; if we seek, we will find; if we knock the door will be opened for us. Let us ask God for wisdom. Let us seek God’s kingdom and righteousness. Let us knock on the door to our neighbor’s heart.
I have always loved the story of Abraham bartering with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham starts by questioning God’s justice and fairness.
“Will you really destroy 50 righteous people just because they live among wicked people?”
To which God replies that if He can find 50 righteous people in Sodom, He will not destroy the city. Abraham than asks, “Well, what if you are only a few short of that number?” Again God replies that if He finds even that number, He will not destroy the city. This continues until Abraham gets God to agree not to destroy the city if there are even 10 righteous people there. At which point, Abraham does not feel that he can argue any further.
I do not really believe that if Abraham had not argued with God and there had been 10 righteous people in Sodom that God would have destroyed the city. However, it does not mean that it would have been OK for Abraham to not make the attempt. When we see trouble coming we should do everything in our power to save those in its path, just as Abraham did here. We should beg and plead with God to turn aside the coming destruction. We should care that people are going to suffer and desire to relieve them of that suffering, even if they brought it on themselves. Sometimes that caring means telling them that their actions are going to bring them suffering.
There is another important lesson here. As wicked as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were, God agreed to not destroy them if He could find TEN righteous people in them. I do not know how many people lived in Sodom, but it was probably many more than 1,000. However, if it was only 1,000, that would mean that it only takes 1% of the population to be righteous to save a city from destruction. Think about that. It does not take many people to actually make a difference, to save a city. It only takes a few righteous people to keep a society from degenerating into a mire for which the only solution is destruction. As bad as things look around us, there are still a few righteous people in this nation. Just as Abraham did, let us pray that it is enough, but when we find ourselves in the situation Lot was in, let us stand up for righteousness.
Most “friends” are unreliable and anyone who has too many of them will come to ruin. However, there are people who will be a friend who is closer than family. When you find the latter, treasure them.
Whenever I read this psalm I am reminded of how majestic the night sky is…and whenever I look at the night sky I am reminded of this psalm. When I see the night sky I think of God’s glory and majesty. In the wonderful universe which God created, mankind is insignificant and small. Yet God gave them charge over His creation. God’s majesty fills the earth and we can witness it wherever we look.
The ship transporting Paul was driven before the storm for two weeks to the point where those on the ship had given up hope of surviving. Paul addressed to crew and passengers telling them that he had warned them against setting sail. Then he told them that they would all survive, although the ship would be wrecked. A short time later, Paul warned the soldiers not to let the sailors abandon ship. As we read this passage, we see the hand of God in preserving the life of those on the ship. Let us remember that when things seem hopeless, God is still there for us. He will bring us through as long as we trust in Him.
Today’s passage finishes up the genealogies by recounting some of the people who returned to the land of Israel after the Babylonian Exile. It then begins telling the story of the kingdom of Israel with the account of Saul’s death. We are reminded that for all of the great things he accomplished Saul died because he was unfaithful to God. The passage takes special note of the fact that he consulted a medium rather than seeking God’s guidance. This is a reminder that we should seek God’s guidance for the important decisions in our lives and be careful not to base those decisions on the advice of those who do not honour Him.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Abraham had received three visitors, one of whom was the Lord. As they prepared to leave, the Lord chose to reveal to Abraham that He was on His way to Sodom and Gomorrah to see if they were as wicked as He had heard. If they were truly wicked, the Lord was going to destroy the cities. Abraham replies by asking the Lord if He would still destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there? God replies that, no, He would not destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there. Abraham then asks Him, “What if there are only 45?” And again God answers that He would not destroy the city if there were 45 righteous people there. Abraham continued until he got to ten righteous people and God answered that He would not destroy Sodom if He found 10 righteous people there.
We do not know how many people lived in Sodom at the time, so we do not know what percentage of the city 10 people would have been. I am not sure that number really matters. The important point of this story is that a small number of people who live righteous lives can act to redeem a city, or nation, in which the majority live wicked lives. I look at the world around me and wonder if Sodom could have been any more wicked than what I observe. Then I ask myself, when God decides to bring judgment against the world today, will I count as one of the righteous people? I also ask myself, are there still “10” righteous people in my region? There is one more thing we need to remember about this story. We are not called to change the way in which our land is governed. We are called to live righteous lives and to act in such a way that those around us feel inspired to live righteous lives. By living righteous lives perhaps we may delay the day of God’s judgment, thus giving those around us time to repent and turn to God.
Jesus continues His teaching about the impossibility of serving two masters, God and money by telling us not to worry. Worrying does us no good at all. God knows what our needs are. He supplies the birds that live around us with enough to eat and clothes the wild flowers more beautifully than even the richest of kings. If He cares so for those, why don’t we have the faith to believe that He will care for us? Jesus tells us not to spend our time worrying about what we will eat, or drink, or wear. God knows that we need those things. If we spend out time seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness, He will provide our needs.
In a way the next part is a continuation on the theme of not worrying about things which are out of our control. It is not our place to judge others. Whatever standard we use to judge others is the standard by which we will be judged. Before we attempt to tell others that what they are doing is wrong, we need to address the places in our own lives where what we are doing is wrong. My first priority needs to be living my life faithful to God’s commands before I attempt to tell others what God’s will for them is. It does no one any good for me to tell people who have no desire to live according to God’s will that they are living in violation of His will. Let me live my life in accordance with His will and perhaps my example will cause them to recognize their need to do the same.
In yesterday’s passage, Jesus told us to keep our prayers simple and short, giving us an example of how we should pray. Here He reminds us that we should not be afraid to ask. If we ask, we will receive. If we seek, we will find. If we knock, the door will be opened. God is not trying to hide from us. He loves us and wants a relationship with us. He wants us to have that which will make us happy. Jesus proves this point by giving an example from earthly fathers who give their children those things which are good for them when they ask. In the same way, we should consider that if God is not giving us something we have asked Him for, perhaps it is because that something will bring us harm and/or unhappiness.
The final portion of today’s passage points out that the easy path, the obvious path, the one chosen by most people, leads to destruction. The path to God and eternal life is narrow and hard to find, we have to search for it in order to find it. We will not get there by doing what everybody else is doing.
I love this psalm. I am reminded of it every time I look up at the night sky on a clear night and see the stars. I think about the majestic beauty and am reminded of how large the universe truly is. In this great and wonderful universe which God has created, I am but an insignificant person on an insignificant planet. Yet God cares for me. He has supplied my needs for food, shelter, and clothing. God is so very majestic, yet He loves me. I will praise His name.
It is from God that we receive wisdom. Ultimately, God is the source of all knowledge and understanding. Those who are honest with themselves and with others will be blessed with common sense. If we live our lives with integrity and seek justice, God will guard and protect us. If we seek God and accept His guidance we will know what is right, just, and fair. He will show us the course of action which we ought to follow. Wisdom and knowledge will give us joy. Making wise decisions will protect us from both the actions of the wicked and from the mistake of following their example. It is wisdom from God which will guide us to the path of life (the one which Jesus told us that few ever find).
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Today’s passage begins by listing some of the families which returned to Jerusalem following the Babylonian exile. It tells us that there were descendants of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Levi. It specifically lists a few of the descendants of Levi and Benjamin, while telling us that there were a larger number of them who returned. The passage then goes on to give a more detailed list of priestly and Levitical families who returned.
The passage concludes the genealogies by giving the family tree of King Saul (including some of his descendants) and then telling the story of his death. The passage repeats how Saul killed himself after he was wounded in battle against the Philistines. He did this in order to avoid being taken captive by the Philistines. Saul and three of his sons died in this battle and the Philistines took their bodies to hang on their city walls. The men of Jabesh-gilead retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and gave them a proper burial.
Finally, after everyone had gone a long time without eating, Paul called everyone together and told them that God had told him that, while the ship would be lost, everyone on board would survive. He finished by telling them that the ship would run aground on an island. That night the sailors started taking soundings and discovered that the ship was entering ever shallower water. They dropped some anchors in an attempt to slow the ship. Then the sailors lowered the lifeboat and pretended that they were going to drop anchors from it. Paul warned the soldiers that if the sailors left the ship everyone else would die. The soldiers responded by cutting the lifeboat loose before the sailors could get into it.
In the morning Paul urged everyone to eat. After doing so, he blessed them all and ate something himself. Thus encouraged everyone ate something, after which they threw the last of the food stuff into the sea. At daybreak the sailors saw a sandy beach and attempted to run the ship aground there. However, on the way to the beach the ship got hung up on some rocks. The soldiers were going to kill the prisoners, but their commander wanted to spare Paul’s life and so ordered them to allow the prisoners to live. The commanding officer ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and swim to shore. He then told everyone else to grab on to planks and other pieces of the ship. In this manner, everyone got to shore safely.
What a wonderful psalm of praise, but it is more than that. It tells us some things about God and about our relationship with God. I like the NIV translation of verse 2:
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
God has used the praise of children and infants, the weakest among us, to create a stronghold against His enemies. God uses weakness to overcome the strong. Then we come to the part that should humble us all.
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?[c]
Yet you made them only a little lower than God[d]
and crowned them[e] with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
Reading that reminds me of the hymn “This Is My Father’s World. That song has much that touches my heart, but this line is the one that strikes close to my heart today.
“This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
When we read the first of these proverbs, let us always remember the line I closed out my devotions on psalms today: “God is the ruler yet.” The second proverb tells us that some friends are unreliable and will bring us to ruin. Let us strive to be the type of friend who sticks closer than a brother.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
As the Lord and the men who had come with Him got up to leave after telling Abraham that he would have a son by Sarah by that time the following year, the Lord decided to tell Abraham that He was going to Sodom to see if it was as bad as He had heard. Abraham asks Him if He will still destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there. The Lord tells Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom if He finds 50 righteous people there. Abraham then asks Him, “what if there are only 45 righteous people?” and the Lord tells him that He won’t destroy Sodom if there are 45. This continues until the Lord tells Abraham that He will not destroy Sodom if He finds 10 righteous people there. We don’t know how many people lived in Sodom at the time, but 10 was almost certainly less than 1% of the population. This passage fits in with yesterday’s passage where Jesus compared us to salt or a light set on a high point. It does not take very much salt relative to the rest of the dish to make the whole dish taste salty. It does not take very much light to penetrate the darkness and make it possible for someone to find their way. In the same way, a few righteous people in Sodom would have lit the way for the rest of the population to find their way to God’s path. Are we providing the salt or light in our culture today that is necessary to keep it from going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah?
When the two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city and invited them to his home. The two angels said that they would be happy to spend the night in the city square, but Lot insisted that they come home with him. Lot fed them a good meal, including fresh-baked unleavened bread. However, before Lot’s guests went to bed for the night, the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that Lot bring them out so that they could have sex with them. Lot attempts to reason with the men of Sodom, asking them to leave the men alone, since they are his guests and under his protection. The men of Sodom condemned Lot for being intolerant of their behavior (“he’s acting like our judge.”) and attempted to force their way past him. The visitors pulled Lot into the house and shut the door. They then struck the men of Sodom blind so that they could not find the door to Lot’s house. The two men then told Lot to gather all of those who were dear to him in the city (sons-in-law, daughters, etc) and leave the city because God had sent them to destroy the city. Lot told the men betrothed to his daughters that God was going to destroy the city, but they did not take him seriously. At dawn the angels urged Lot to hurry out of the city before he got caught in the destruction along with everyone else. When he still hesitated, they grabbed his hands and those of his wife and daughters and led them out of the city.
There has been debate about what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Was it sexual sin? Was it a lack of hospitality? I think we can see it more clearly in two things. The first is that Lot insisted that the men not spend the night in the city square, rather he wished for them to come under his protection. So, the first thing we have is that strangers were not safe in the city. The second thing happened when Lot tried to convince the men of Sodom to leave the strangers, who had come under his protection, alone. The men of Sodom accused Lot of being judgmental for not joining in their sin and attempting to protect others from them. Who was he to interfere with their pursuit of pleasure, even when it involved mistreating others? Who was he to judge them for their actions?
Don’t worry. Jesus points out that God provides food for birds and asks are not people more important to God than birds? Not only that, but can we actually change anything important by worrying about it? Can we extend our lives by worrying? The answers to these questions (for anyone who is not sure) are “Yes”, “No” and “No”. Jesus goes on to point out that we should not worry about our clothes. After all, wild flowers are beautiful, yet they do not put forth any effort in order to dress that way. We should not spend out time worrying about we are going to eat, or drink, or wear. Non-believers spend their time worrying about that sort of thing and God knows that we need them. If we focus on seeking to do God’s will and being part of His kingdom, He will provide for all of our other needs as well.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We are judged by the same standard that we judge others. Can we live up to the standard we hold others to? We often use this passage to condemn hypocrisy, but even there we are not paying attention to what Jesus is saying. He is saying that we should put our own lives under a greater scrutiny for wrongdoing than we put others, even when it comes to hypocrisy. I am not responsible for what you do, I am responsible for what I do.
If we ask for what is good for us, it will be given to us. If we seek that which will make us happy, we will find it. If we knock, the door will open for us. Jesus gives us a good example to understand the “limits” on these things. If a child asks his father for food, his father will not give the child rocks. However, if a child asks for food that will harm him, a good father will not give the child that. In the same way, if we ask God for things that are good for us, He will give those things to us, but He will not give us things that will bring us harm (there may be special case exceptions to this, but I don’t want to go into that here).
Today’s passage ends with Jesus telling us not to follow the crowd and not to take the easy way. There is another path that we should be looking for. Its entrance is narrow and it is hard to find, but the reward of following it is life eternal.
When I read this psalm it brings to mind the song “How Great Thou Art”.
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
This psalm makes me think of when I go out at night and look up at the night sky and the chorus of this song just saturates my soul:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Or when I go somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of urban life (sort of like where I live right now…away from urban life).
When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
All of this humbles me and makes me wonder how God could care for me, a mere man, and not just a man, but a sinful man. I will praise God for how wonderful He is. I do not deserve all that He has done for me and so often I respond to the call to serve Him with, “But I’m tired.”
An Amaryllis Blooms
God will grant us wisdom, if we but ask Him for it. When we understand what is right, just and fair, and we do those things, then wisdom will enter our hearts and fill us with joy. As we make wise choices they will keep us safe. All too often we mistake the cunning way for the wise way. Our society admires the cunning more than it admires the wise. People mistake wisdom for dullness, what they do not understand that wisdom only looks dull because it does not give the adrenalin rush that comes with the risk of things going wrong. When you do what is wise, things do not go wrong (or at least, not disastrously so).
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Today’s passage begins with an account of various people and what tribes they were descended from who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. This passage mentions priests and Levites and descendants of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It describes what duties the ancestors of the returning Levites had had in the pre-Exile Temple. The passage then repeats the family tree of King Saul.
At this point, the writer begins his narrative with King Saul’s final battle against the Philistines. The account tells us that the battle grew thick around Saul and three of his sons were killed. Saul himself was wounded by Philistine archers. Saul begs his armor bearer to kill him before the Philistines could take him captive. His armor bearer was afraid to do so. King Saul then took his own sword and fell on it. The passage tells us that when the Israelites of that area realized that Saul and his three sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. We are told that when the Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his sons they displayed them on their city wall. The warriors from Jabesh-gilead recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and buried them, holding a week long funeral fast for their deaths. The passage concludes by telling us that King Saul died because he was unfaithful to God. That because he did not obey God’s commands, God killed him and turned the kingdom over to David.
We take up the story after the ship carrying Paul had been driven by the storm for many days. No one on board had eaten for some time. Paul called the crew together and told them the even though the ship is going to go down, none of them will lose their lives. The sailors sensed that they were getting close to shore, so they dropped a sounding rope to determine how deep the water was where they were. Shortly after that, they tested the depth again and discovered that the water was significantly more shallow. The sailors put out four anchors from the back of the ship to slow its progress towards shore. They then lowered the lifeboat and pretended that they were going to put out anchors from the front of the boat. However, Paul warned the soldiers to not let the sailors abandon the ship. The soldiers followed Paul’s warning and cut the ropes to the lifeboat before the sailors could get into it. As the next day dawned, Paul urged everyone to eat for their own good and told them that they would all survive. They took his advice and ate. When it became light, they saw a coastline they did not recognize. They saw a bay with a beach that they hoped to run the ship aground on. They cut the anchors and steered the ship for the beach. Unfortunately, they hit a shoal and ran aground further out than they desired. The ship began to break apart under the force of the waves smashing into it. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent their escape, but the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul’s life, so he would not let them kill any of the prisoners. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first. The rest clung to planks or other floating debris from the ship. The passage concludes by telling us that everyone made it to shore safely.
The psalmist marvels at the care that God shows for humans when you consider humans in the scale of the universe. When you look at the night sky and see the size of the universe, how can anyone not be impressed by the majesty of God? There are those who wonder why God would make the universe so large if humans on this earth are the only intelligent beings in it. But I think in part, God did this to give us some sense of the scale between our finite selves and His infinite being. This does not mean that I am convinced that there are no beings elsewhere in the universe that were created to worship God, just that I can see a purpose for the universe being so big even if there are not. I think of this psalm often when I view the vastness of nature and/or the night sky and it makes me hold God in awe.
This proverb tells us that some people are willing to throw those they claim as friends “under the bus” to advance their own interests, but a real friend will stand by their friends no matter what the cost. I try to be tend toward the latter, even with people who I do not yet count as friends. I do not want anyone I know to think there is no one they can turn to in times of trouble. I know that I do not always succeed in being that person that they can turn to, but I strive for that end.
