Divine Friendship

It’s a divine tactic against evil to make friends.

The biggest killer is operating by fear. The world is full of people who need help dealing with the Devil’s lies about our existence here, buried under countless layers of deception. God grants a spontaneous breakthrough for some of those layers, but He chooses to use us in the process. We place ourselves in the best position for use when we are at least willing to interact with perfect strangers.

If you listen to mainstream Christians, they’ll tell you to start every encounter with a gospel sales pitch. Wrong. We don’t sell anything and we don’t convert people into loyal customers of our favorite brand. We simply live the gospel message, living in the context of the Spirit’s moving in that moment. It might be hard to predict what shape that sacrificial living takes in the storms of human decision. If the Holy Spirit opposes some of my silly choices, He might well guide me to fight something out of compassion for a fool in his folly. Despite how it might sound, it can be a friendly act to punch someone’s lights out if your reason for doing so is within divine justice. We are friends of God first. Being a friend to your fellow humans is something on the level of the heart, not a learned script. You can’t allow the recipient to order what they want from you; it’s commanded by God.

You can only give what you have; you can only be what God made you to be. It’s for sure your self-concept under the Spirit will be in constant motion. God help me if I’m not a different man from two weeks ago. However, the only way I can do God’s will is be forthrightly what He has made of me thus far. If allowing others to see some change is a critical element of my testimony of His glory, then let me boldly show it. Yeah, this is totally contrary to what our culture pretends is good and right.

It’s that pretense that destroys our witness. We cannot let the world to shape us, but to force the world to deal with us as we present God’s truth. The power of His truth is most gloriously proclaimed in how we deal with people. There are some common elements within the total uniqueness of His calling for each of us. There are some common tactics in pushing back the darkness.

You can’t be a friend to everyone. That’s part of the calling; we are all different in our witness because everyone in the world is different. Never mind why, that’s how God does things. You can bring redemption to every life, but sometimes that means moving out of their world gracefully. Only the Lord can decide when persistence is right and when bowing out is grace.

Let me suggest a few ideas that should work well enough in our current social context.

We humans laugh at all kinds of things. Snickering at the misfortunes of others is the symptom of serious moral disorder. It signals an arrogance and smug self-righteousness that has nothing to do with God. It’s all the more evil when you are the least bit hypocritical about it. What follows assumes you already know that empathy is a moral necessity, that compassion is our first order of business in dealing with human moral blindness.

Humor is easily the one thing that separates us most quickly. Try to understand that you cannot and should not try to apologize for what you find funny. For example, a morbid sense of humor isn’t evil. Don’t accept anyone’s attempt to shame you for laughing at what amuses you, especially if the scolding is based purely on cultural bias. Only Satan does that, trying to deny your sense of joy and amusement at his antics. Laugh at their rejection because such censure comes from the Devil. Let your sense of humor separate you from people who aren’t ready for your friendship. By the same token, be graceful with the humor of others. Offer when you can to provoke their laughter. Take no offense, but recognize the boundaries humor draws. It’s one of the best and quickest paths to sorting things out.

For the most part, compel no one put up with you who struggles over it. Be what God has made of you, and be where you must and when you must be there, but don’t rub people raw simply for the sake of your own entertainment. There’s a fine line of separation there in refusing to be shamed for what is wired into your character. Don’t hide your amusement at the energy they waste, but don’t go out of your way to harass.

Be the strong one when possible. A story best illustrates: There was a believer who came into work every day, greeting some woman at the front desk with his sunny disposition. She was always icy, if not bitter, in rejecting his warm wishes. Yet he remained consistent in treating her kindly, refusing to absorb her misery. He never pried or hinted at some character flaw in her. As naturally happens in this world, their paths diverged and he didn’t see her any more. Some time later she sent him a note thanking him for his caring attitude during a very difficult time in her life. She wanted to know what kind of church he attended. It wasn’t being nice that won it for her, but his strength and fortitude in his calling. Love is what held Christ on the Cross, not the nails. He could have called a legion of angels.

Never fear appearing self-contradictory. Our whole world was built on the wrong logic; it cannot comprehend God’s character. If nothing else, be ready to say, “Well, it makes sense to me.” Let such criticism roll off your back. The ethic is that we don’t expect people to agree with us because we know they can’t possibly understand in the first place. Don’t apologize for it, but willingly explain as much as you can in any context.

The power granted through living by God’s moral character is overwhelming, but it’s a power against the Devil, not directly against this world. Satan’s character is deception, so it’s no surprise that the world can’t follow divine logic in deciding what matters in each context. You can’t even pretend infallibility, but you can be certain of God’s will for you in any given context. Reach for that. Your sense of certainty is your greatest victory.

God says your friendship, whatever shape it takes, is the key to setting souls free from prison.