It is a strange thing that men should regard friendship as one of life’s greatest treasures, yet they labor so little to attain it. They spare no effort in securing wealth—purchasing homes, cars, and investments, pursuing high salaries, and insuring their possessions against loss—yet how many take similar care in cultivating friendship? They seek to defend their assets against the smallest threat, yet let their friends slip away through neglect, foolish pride, or betrayal.

This, I say, is a most absurd way to live. Consider Job, a man who lost everything—his wealth, his health, even his children. Even after losing his children, fortune, and health, Job still found the betrayal of his friends to be a deeper wound than all his other losses. Their turning against him added to his suffering:

“My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me... Those I love have turned against me.”
(Job 19:14, 19)

If friendship were a small matter, why did this pain him more than the loss of his fortune? Because a man can rebuild his wealth, but a friend lost is not so easily replaced.

How Men Treat Their Friends Today

Look at how modern men treat their friendships. They will anxiously call a mechanic when their car breaks down, but when a friend is afflicted, they may not even ask if he needs help. They will rush to upgrade their phone when a newer model is released, yet neglect to check in on a friend going through hardship. If their Wi-Fi goes out, they are desperate for a fix, yet if a friend disappears from their life, they barely notice.

These men, though praised as "responsible" in worldly matters, are truly the most foolish of all.

Does not Scripture say:

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17)
“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

If this is true, then how great is the sin of those who cast aside a faithful friend for the sake of convenience! Would they not be counted more foolish than Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal? (Genesis 25:29-34)

David & Jonathan: A Lesson in Friendship

Consider also King David, a man who had wealth, power, and dominion, yet counted Jonathan, the son of his enemy, as dearer than all of these. When Jonathan died, David did not rejoice over gaining the throne—instead, he wept:

“Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.” (2 Samuel 1:26)

If David, a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), held friendship in such esteem, should we not do likewise?

Are You a Friend Worth Keeping?

Now, let me ask: Can a man determine the worth of his friends as he does his possessions? Surely, if we judge a car by its reliability and a job by its salary, ought we not to judge men by their faithfulness?

Some friendships are worth more than a house, more than a career; others are worth nothing at all. A man would be wise to ask himself:

• What value do I have to my friends?
• Would they sacrifice for me as I would for them?
• Have I proven myself to be a friend worth keeping, or would they—like a company letting go of an unproductive employee—cast me aside without regret?

Many men complain that their friends have abandoned them, yet they never ask whether they themselves were worth holding onto. They lament betrayal, yet they have not cultivated loyalty. They bewail the loss of companionship, yet they have sown only selfishness.

What Will You Leave Behind?

In the end, the man who hoards wealth but neglects his friends will die alone, and his possessions will pass to strangers. But the one who treasures his friends will find, even in death, that his name is not forgotten, and his love is not lost. For he has sown in the only soil that yields eternal reward—the soil of the heart.

So I say to you, do not be deceived by riches or ensnared by comfort. If you would be truly wise, seek friends more than wealth, and cherish them more than convenience.

For in the day of trouble, it will not be your house or your bank account that will comfort you, but the faithful friend who does not forsake you. And in this, you will walk as Christ walked, for He Himself said:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)