About Friendships and Disillusionments

Yesterday, I read a devotional that, while it took me reading through twice to understand, struck me as an amazing reminder of how I view my friendships.

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From My Utmost for His Highest

By Oswald Chambers 

(July 30)

"Jesus did not commit Himself unto them . . . for He knew what was in man." (John 2:24-25)

"Disillusionment means that there are no more false judgments in life. To be undeceived by disillusionment may leave us cynical and unkindly sever in our judgment of others, but the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging bitter things to say. Many of the cruel things in life spring from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts; we are true only to our ideas of one another. Everything is either delightful and fine, or mean and dastardly, according to our idea.

"The refusal to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering in human life. It works in this way - if we love a human being and do not love God, we demand of him every perfection and every rectitude, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; we are demanding of a human being that which he or she cannot give. There is only on Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why our Lord is apparently so sever regarding every human relationship is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no man, yet He was never suspicious, never bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God and in what His grace could do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone."

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Where is our trust concerning our friendships? The more we cling to friendships, the less we will care about God's thoughts concerning the friendship. I am reminded once again to hold first my relationship with God and second, my relationship with those around me.