Friends, or admirers?

By Steve Brown, "Overcoming Setbacks
On Being Human (orig. title)
* Dennis J. De Haan

FRIENDS, OR ADMIRERS?

In a Charlie Brown cartoon, Charlie is eating a
peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and as he eats he notices his hands
and becomes enamored with them. He holds them up and starts looking up
at them, then muses: "I like my hands. They are fascinating. They
really are. I have nice hands. They have a lot of character. Do you
realize that these two little hands may someday accomplish greater
things? These hands may someday do marvelous works...miracles. They
may build mighty bridges, or heal the sick, or hit home runs, or write
soul-stirring novels..." Lucy finally interrupts this grandiose musing
and puts it in perspective. "Charlie, your hands have jelly on them."

We need friends like that too -- friends who don't worship at our
altar. We're only human, not gods.

If you only have friends who think you're wonderful, they aren't
friends. They're admirers. And admirers won't hang around long once
they see the not-so-wonderful sides of your humanity. Lucy may
sometimes seem to Charlie Brown as the bane of his existence, but
she'll always shoot straight with him, and he --as well as you and I
-- need that.

Are your friends true friends or just admirers? Do they tell you what
you need to hear or just what you want to hear? What kind of a friend
are you? Are you willing to risk a friendship by telling the truth
with gentleness rather than by hiding it out of selfishness?
-----------------------------------------------------
A friend accepts us as we are
Yet helps us to be what we can be;
A friend affirms us when we're weak--
A friend gives strength to set us free.*
-----------------------------------------------------

====================
From: jgat777@globelines.com.ph