A True Friend

August 3, 2025

Dr. Paul Cannings

The story is told of a little boy who was playing in his parent’s back yard. While playing he rolled a log over and became excited to find what he thought were worms. He became so occupied with these “worms” that he ignored the constant sting he felt. His mother, who came to the back door to check on him, saw him in the corner of the back yard and went to see what he was doing. She immediately recognized that the “worms” he was playing with were really small snakes. The mother immediately pulls the boy away. The boy becomes angry and starts crying. The mother screams so loud that the boy’s father comes running. The father kills the snakes, and within minutes the boy was in the emergency room, now swollen feeling the sting from the snake bites. After becoming weak from the poison given off by the snakes, the doctors, nurses and medical technicians focus on saving his life.

Many young people make their enemy their friend. They enjoy the world and all it has to offer. They want to go to all the parties, dress in the newest fashions, become sexually active and stay out late like their friends. All that matters is that they need to have fun. By loving the world, they soon lose the desire to obey God (I John 2:15-17). Obeying God becomes boring or unattractive, and their Christian parents become difficult to live with.

James says; “………, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4; NIV; Mark 8:34-38) Like the little boy it seems fun and harmless to play with the snakes. Because of a lack of knowledge, or because they choose not to listen to their parents or youth minister, their decisions may seem at the time to be harmless. However, their passions deceive them into thinking that having fun with friends (who may not be believers) is harmless (James 1:13-17). By doing so, Jesus becomes their enemy (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10; enemy because Christ opposes their decisions) because they made Satan their friend. A rat sees the cheese, not the trap. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for His friends.  You are My friends, if you do what I command you.” (John 15:13-14)                                                                                                                           

To the little boy the little snakes are his friends and fun to play with. His parents and medical staff are the enemy. His parents pulled him away from “fun” and what the medical staff is doing may seem painful while the entire time they are both trying to save his life.

God is the best friend we can ever have. This is why we must trust Him and abide in His Word (Psalm 1; 119:9-11, 105; Proverbs 4:20-27). This way the enemy remains the enemy and the friend a true friend.