Friends of Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text:  And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.

10 "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."  14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. 15 But he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:9-15

Reflection: “How to make friends and influence people” is one of the best selling self help book ever published and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

Thought the book contains valuable thoughts on the essentials of friendship and relationship yet it could lead one to manipulative methods to achieve a particular goal viz. friendship at any cost.  

The book talked about the techniques of handling people and the many different ways to make people like you as a person. It talked about the 12 ways of influencing people to your way of thinking and without being offensive to them.

Was it a new methodology in pleasing people or a technique based approach to winning friends without caring for the individuality of others?

One key thought the book highlights in order to achieve one's goal is to either get the other into your way of thinking or get into their way of thinking.

In other words one should have friendship as their goal in life and nothing else in order to use this methodology to achieve it.

This is not how it is with Christians: You cannot get someone to your way of thinking or get into someone else’s way of thinking. In that you could end up a looser and condemned for all eternity.

We have a perfect person in Christ Jesus and he can be the center of all friendship. Get into his way of thinking and do not bother much about friendship.  Because he is a friend that is complete and satisfies and we really do not need another.

If are gifted with friends in the course of proclaiming him as the perfect person to follow then we thank Jesus for his generosity. But in no way we can compromise with the friendship of Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for you no longer treat us like servants, even though we are your mere servants. 

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