God Gives Us Each Other

God Gives Us Each Other

In a June 22, 2006, USA Today article, experts reported Americans had 33% fewer close friends than they had 20 years earlier. In 1985, the average American had three friends in whom they were willing to confide, but according to the American Sociological Review, by 2004 that number dropped to just two. Perhaps the most tragic detail in the report was how 25% of Americans said they had no close friend.

I wish fewer people today were lonely, but that is not reality. In May 2023, the US Surgeon General called loneliness a, “Public Health Epidemic.” The American Psychiatric Association reports that 30% of Americans are lonely every week and for those between 18 and 34, the numbers are worse; 30% of this age group says they are lonely several times a week or every day.

Long-term loneliness has staggering consequences with studies showing it shortens lives. In 2022 the Centers for Disease Control reported 49,000 Americans took their own lives, that was a suicide every 11 minutes. More concerning is how 1.6 million people attempted suicide that year and that 13.2 million people admitted they had seriously considered taking their own life.

While loneliness is not the only factor contributing to the soaring suicide rate, it certainly plays a significant role because each one of us needs friends. Solomon penned these wise words, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NLT)

The greatest account of friendship in scripture is the story of David and Jonathan. During a traumatic time in David’s life when Jonathan’s father, King Saul, felt threatened by David and tried to kill him, Jonathan rescued him and repeatedly helped his friend not lose hope.

Jonathan was there for David when he was vulnerable; he refused to let his friend despair because of his love and commitment. Without the precious gift of Jonathan’s friendship, David would neither have gone so far nor achieved so much. Jonathan made David a better person.

I do not know who first made this profound statement, “God doesn’t just give us promises; He gives us each other.” We need one another and healthy friends help us become the best version of ourselves. May you and I be blessed with that kind of friend and perhaps more importantly, may we be this kind of friend.