How many friends do you have? Thousands? If you are on Facebook you may have close to 5,000 friends and tens of thousands of more “friends” via Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or various other social media connections. Are you really connected? Can you really call these social media members “friends”?  

How many of these people do you talk to or have ever had a verbal conversation, in person or on the telephone? How many of them have you met or would like to meet? In most cases if your social media “friends” wanted to meet you and visit you it would scare you to death. Although, I know a little bit about most of mine and in most cases I think I would probably enjoy it. If I wouldn’t enjoy it then why have that person in my circle of “friends”? The larger the number of people you have in your social media circle the less likely you are to know much if anything about them and then you have to ask yourself: why? Most people would never have that much time to talk on the phone with all their social media friends. 

I receive friend requests everyday but seldom accept many because often they are from people who I’m clueless about. Why do I want to know what they are doing or what I’m doing if I don’t even know anything at all about the person? 

There is a verse from scripture that says, “A friend sticks closer than a brother.” Often in life you discover your friends aren’t who you thought they were but often are the people you might never imagined. A true friend steps in when the others have walked away. All you need to do is fall on your face, make some mistakes in life and you’ll lose the majority of your “friends.” They’ll disappear. The handful of people who stay with you or show up to help you will become the greatest people in your life.

I once heard someone say, “The person who loves God most is at his post when all the others have walked away.” It’s true with a friend. A real friend will be there regardless. How many people do you have in your life who will come to you if you are 200 miles away and your car is broke down? Who will try to wire $500 to you if you are in a distant town and lose your wallet? 

What if your business fails, you file bankruptcy, divorce, get a terminal illness or do some stupid things in your life? You may have already found out how people shy away from you during life upheaval. Often, they don’t know what to say or do and so they walk away or become distant. They aren’t real friends. A real friend doesn’t walk away. A real friend doesn’t tell you what you want to hear but may tell you their thoughts without trying to wound you. They talk to you in love and in friendship.

How many friends do you really have? 

Dr. Glenn Mollette is a graduate of numerous schools including Georgetown College, Southern and Lexington Seminaries in Kentucky. He is the author of 12 books including Uncommon Sense. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.