By: Garrett Hager, guest writer and graduate student of Theology and Ministry MA
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift the other up. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (ESV)
As we go about our day-to-day lives, dealing with the stress of school, work, and extracurricular activities, it can be tempting to want to crawl into our own little worlds and close ourselves off from everybody else. The thought is, “I need to focus on my own work and avoid distractions.” That can seem like good advice, especially if “everybody else” is nothing more than a distraction. But according to Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, this is not always the case. In the verse above, Solomon highlights because having a true friend in your life is vital for success.
One of the areas in my life that I have seen this principle work out is with exercising. As an active-duty Marine for 20 years, working out was an important part of my routine. I can look back and see the times when I was the most diligent and saw the best success. These times were when I had a workout partner who shared the same goals as I did. We were each invested in the lives of the other. We both wanted success for each other, therefore we pushed one another to do our best and not to skip workouts. As anyone who has worked out for any length of time knows, it can be very tempting to skip workouts because of “insert excuse here.”
This same principle holds true for spiritual growth. The most important aspect of a vibrant relationship with God is having a consistent quiet time. As with working out, your spiritual muscles will atrophy if you fail to exercise them daily. But just like in working out, the fact that gains are sometimes imperceptible, we can easily brush our quiet times aside because of “insert excuse here.”
If we really understand how vital quiet time with our father is, there should not be any reason to push it aside. Unfortunately, we are all human and prone to misplaced priorities and mistakes. Fortunately, we have a God who wants us to succeed, so He gave us the answer. It lies in the verse above. We need to have a partner who is as equally vested in our spiritual growth as we are theirs, so that we can hold each other accountable and push each other to succeed in our spiritual walk. Solomon also said in Psalm 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This sharpening relationship is what we need. Someone who isn’t afraid to call us out on our lame excuses (i.e., pick us up when we fall) and someone that will receive the same from us. God promises we will reap a “good reward” when we have this. This principle is so great that it applies in every other aspect of our lives, including, school, work, and relationships.
We weren’t meant to go on life alone. In Genesis 2, God says that “it is not good for man to be alone. He needs a helper suitable for him.” Obviously, in this instance, God was talking about marriage. However, the principle that we need strong relationships to which we are accountable in our lives is still valid.
So, I encourage you today to thank God if you have a friend like this. If you do not, pray and ask that God will provide you one. And, most importantly, seek to be a friend who picks others up. God bless you!