A Contrast In Friends
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles, uncategorizedIn the Old Testament, Job and Daniel had much in common because both went through serious trials and challenges. Both had great success because of the blessing of God’s presence in their lives. Both are viewed as giants of the faith — one for his patience in suffering, and the other for his purity in an impure culture (James 5:10-11; Daniel 1:8).
Job and Daniel had one other thing in common — each had three significant friends. However, the similarities end here. Job’s friends became a thorn in his flesh, offering him condemnation when he needed compassion and companionship. As Job struggled with loss and grief, his “friends” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar seemed bent on intensifying his pain rather than helping him in his adversity.
In contrast, Daniel’s three friends were very different. Taken captive together, Daniel and his companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, supported and strengthened one another in difficult times. They stood together in honoring God (Daniel 1:1-21) and in prayer (Daniel 2:17-18), and in refusing to bow before the king’s image (Daniel 3:16-18). These are the kind of faithful friends we all need.
The question we need to ask ourselves is: “What kind of friend am I?” The writer of Proverbs says, “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17 – NKJV). Who needs us to be a friend today? Let’s be the faithful kind of friend as Daniel’s friends were.