Friendship - Edition #9: I Pity the Fool

May 5th, 2006

Cinco-de-Mayo!
Happy Friend’s Day!!!
Friendship – Edition #9: I Pity the Fool

Today, I will have a lumbar puncture and found out the official results of the MRI, which entails a ruptured disk as well as other problems with my 8th and 9th Thoracic Vertebrae. Exciting!!! It really is! I mean, I want this stuff OVER, because, with the problems over, I can move forward and on with my education. I prayed last night. It was an interesting prayer… but before I go into it, I want to share the scripture it referenced.

Judges 4:21-22
But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you're looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead.

Now, my prayer was like this: “I pray God; you took out an unrighteous man and put a peg through his temple while he was asleep. No one has that opportunity with right now, for I am awake. I may be righteous in your eyes, I may be unrighteous in your eyes, but what I do know is that I put forth an effort to please you. I beg you to give me some time to sleep tonight.” And you know what? I had the best night of sleep in quite a while… I even woke up a couple of times with the thunder but it was really OK in all.

So, it’s Friday. It is friend’s day.

Ecclesiastes 4:10
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Now, I always here this scripture in reference to marriage, but for some reason, every time I hear it, I think of Mr. T. “I pity the fool who falls down with no one to help him up!!!” Maybe I am the only one, but probably not after this… Now, the friend here is a simple companion. Here’s the Hebrew: châbêr “khaw-bare'” an associate: - companion, fellow, knit together. Now, here I don’t think of an associate as a friend. I don’t think many people do.

Associate (verb):

1. A companion; a comrade.

When I think of someone that I don’t call a “friend” but just someone that I would simple say that I just “associate” with… then what are they really? And what is it that I am saying? I do pity the fool who has no friends. And I pity the fool who also turns friends away for the sake of pride. Ecclesiastes 4:10 is not just about marriage, is also about helping others out when we fall down. It is good to be there for our friends in there time of need. Johnny Out.