Now you may or may not be a part of Facebook's social network. For better or for worse I am. I first got started just after my youngest daughter's wedding. Her new brother-in-law posted a number of wedding photos on his Facebook site. Wanting to see them, I of course, had to become a registered Facebook user and then send him a friend request. Fortunately for me, he was willing to confirm me as a Facebook friend!
Now being a Facebook friend requires very little. In fact all it takes is a couple of mouse clicks and you are in. In fact, I have some Facebook friends that I barely know ... and regularly receive friend requests from people I do NOT know.
However, being a friend in "the REAL world" is much more demanding. The Old Testament book of wisdom, Proverbs, has much to say about friendship (the word "friend" in some form appears 25 times in the book!). One of these verses speaks about the Facebook social community (and other such cyberspace relational sites). Proverbs 18:25 reads, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." This verse contains a warning to those of us who use Facebook type sites to do our social networking - and it is this. Having lots of friends on Facebook is simply having a lot of COMPANIONS -- people who you might "know" and who might "know" you. But if we are to really make it in life - we need those friends who stick closer than a brother. This type of friendship can stay connected via a site like Facebook - but I do not believe it can be nurtured into a deep relationship there. All this to say -- do not neglect face-to-face contact with your friends. For it is there that you will find yourself growing together and your hearts bonding!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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