Fresh Bread: New Decade, New Friends

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? (Proverbs 20:6, NLT)

Four days ago, the Associated Press named Tiger Woods their “Athlete of the Decade.” By now, almost any person who keeps up with current events is well aware of the problems facing Tiger as he enters the next decade. I am certainly not writing this article to further bash Tiger. My real thought is who will be his real friends as he moves into a new year and a new decade.

I am convinced that part of his problem in this decade was those whom he considered “his friends.” There is a saying that goes, “Association brings about assimilation”. In other words, we will become similar to those with whom we regularly associate. Show me who your closest friends are, and I will have a good idea as to the direction in which your life is heading. Thus, over the approaching holidays, you and I may want to take a year-end inventory as to who and what type of close friends surround us.

Over the next month and a half, I want to help you not only to evaluate and choose good friends, but also to be a good (God) friend. As believers, we all should be friends who have been sent to people from God. Thus, in these articles, we will study the Book of Ruth in order to discover what a God Friend looks like. Why Ruth? Because the meaning of the name Ruth is simply one word: Friend.

As we are now eleven days from entering a new decade, I will simply challenge you to begin your new year by asking God in prayer: Who are the friends You want to give me for this new decade? Trust me. He will answer and you will be glad that He did.