Bible Verse: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Proverbs 27:17
When you are young, making friends seems easy. At least meeting new people is easy; when you meet so many new people, you are bound to make a friend or two.
Something happens as men get older. It becomes more challenging to make new friends.
Most men are busy; they work or go to school, have family responsibilities, a wife or girlfriend, maybe some kids, a mortgage and/or car payment, etc. That may create some fear (see Monday’s devotional) or anxiety about the future (see Tuesday’s devotional).
Both of these are tactics of the Devil to keep you isolated. You are too busy to engage, or you think no one will understand.
Of course, the people you hang out with the most are most likely to become your friends.
So, if you retreat to your cave during the week and avoid eye contact as you rush out of church immediately after the service, you aren’t going to make too many friends.
For many men, there is a cycle of loneliness. We don’t know many people well, so we avoid people, meaning we know fewer people, etc.
So, what can be done?
First, recognize that many of the other men in your church feel the same way as you.
Second, be a man of courage; step out and start a conversation.
If you do that, you’ll be surprised how responsive people are.
Prayer: Lord, give me the courage to engage with the men at my church. Open the doors for me to make new friends or to go deeper with a male friendship I already have. Amen.
Reflection: At church this week, who can you introduce yourself to or strike up a conversation with after the service?
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