Misfit? : Why the World is Not Your Friend (and Where You Truly Fit In)
Are you tired of trying to keep up with the ways of the world? Are you feeling out of place, lost and seeking to find yourself? Well, you can stop searching because you won’t find yourself here. Let’s examine your biggest “fri-enemy”, uncover exactly why it isn’t your friend - and discover who is!
The World, a Faux Friend
Within even the most introverted individuals is an innate desire for companionship and to belong, to be accepted. As we grow, that desire becomes stronger and we seek to fill it, but we end up filling it wrongfully. With things that don’t last and are flawed – things of this world.
The world is full of human beings with differing characteristics, flaws and motives. Which makes the world a difficult place to trust in and rely upon. Of course, there are good people, people who mean well – but is that enough? Truthfully, no. Good shouldn’t be good enough for you.
Maybe you’ve been hurt so much you’d rather not bother with friends, or maybe you feel that you’ve already got all the friends you need. Either way, you are missing out on true companionship of a lasting and unfailing kind – companionship with your creator.
Friendship: The World VS God
Think you are bound to a life of solitude or that those you’ve found on this Earth are all the friends you’ll ever need? Think again! Let’s compare the differences between the world’s view and God’s view of friendship:
The World: Sets high expectations of you
God: Doesn’t expect you to be perfect; in fact, he assures that HIS strength is made perfect in YOUR weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
The World: Teaches you can be good enough (“Oh, I’m a good person. I don’t need religion.” How many times have you heard this statement? How many times have you stated this?)
Then tells you that you aren’t good enough to fit in (How many times have you been told you weren’t good enough?)
God: Makes it clear that you’re fitting in with Him (entrance into the Christian faith and Heaven) do not depend upon your being “good”. No one is good enough (Romans 3:10) because we all have sinned and fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). And just as the bible teaches Christians that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), many would argue that works without faith is just as dead for the nonbeliever. Your good deeds will not win God over. Thankfully, His plan for your salvation was so much better than that!
The World: Asks you to conform to its ways and thinking before it will accept you. The world delights in your sin, but when you “sin too much” or commit certain sins you are treated as damaged goods.
God: Asks that you come to Him, just as you are and allow Him to transform you! God forgives all of your sins and deems them equal. Nothing you’ve done makes you less desirable to Him.
The World: Tells you what you want to hear, which can prove harmful
God: Speaks the truth in love, which can save a life
The world: Teaches serving self and striving to please a multitude of others
God: Expects you to serve Him above all else, others in a Godly way that will build them up while glorifying His kingdom. As a result of this kind of service, you are left feeling satisfied. In our selfish world, even your well meaning service of others often goes un or underappreciated, but God always reciprocates.
The world: The world warps love and deprives you of experiencing genuine love, the way God intended it to be
God: God loves you with a sincere love that no human being could provide. He defines this love in mere words in 1 Corinthians 13. Most importantly, he demonstrated his definition of love through actions when He died for you. How many people do you know who would commit as tremendous an act as Jesus Christ did on the cross? No human being even possesses the power to do for you what He has done.
Finding Real Friends
God warns us about the world, He makes it clear that it is no friend of ours and we do not belong to it once we find a friend in Him (John 15:19). How do you become a friend of God? Thankfully, gaining His accept is far easier than gaining that of the world.
Go to God in prayer right now, He will be happy to hear from you. Even if you’ve never known Him, He knows you and looks forward to this moment as one looks forward to reuniting with a long lost friend. Tell God about your sin, how lost you’ve become and the loneliness you’ve experienced. Confide in Him. Believe with all your heart that Christ died for sins, so that you could receive God’s gift of eternal life in spite of your flaws. Invite God into your life, to be your closest friend and the only one you seek to follow from this day forth.
If you’ve prayed these things, not only have you gained God as a friend, but you have gained many brothers and sisters in Christ. Befriending Godly people is the best any Christian seeking human companionship can do during their time in this world. People who live for their flesh are far more likely to fail you than those striving to live for God.
Now say goodbye to that fri-enemy known as the world!
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