Ecclesiastes 4:9–10: “Two are better than one, / Because they have a good reward for their labor. / For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. / But woe to him who is alone when he falls, / For he has no one to help him up.”

July 9th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Many have used this passage as part of their marriage ceremony, and it is certainly appropriate. Solomon rightly said that there are 4 rewards for companionship: 1) a companion helps you get more done, 2) a companion helps you when you are down, 3) a companion provides warmth, and 4) a companion gives strength.

Someone said a friend, a companion, is the kind of person that if you call them at midnight and tell them you need them, they don’t ask, “So what’s the problem?” and then based on the answer decide whether or not to come. They simply ask, “Where are you?” as they are getting dressed. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

There are few things more painful than betrayal by a close friend. The feelings of disappointment and loss when a friend becomes an enemy can be devastating. The natural reaction is to pull back, put up walls, and have only limited contact with other people. We do this to protect ourselves against further pain, walling off our emotions, not letting ourselves care too much or reveal too much. Rocker Paul Simon said in his song, I Am a Rock:

I’ve built walls
A fortress, steep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship
Friendship causes pain
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island

And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries

The problem is that although “a rock feels no pain and an island never cries,” it also never rejoices, feels happiness, contentment, or love. We are not rocks. And every person who has tried to be one has suffered death by isolation.

“LORD, help us to fear only You this day and not any person, we ask in Jesus’ name.”