It's the quality, not the quantity

Singaporeans love different varieties of food. The more the merrier and we are constantly going for money's worth. Meaning the more quantity there is, the better it is in our eyes. When u compare it to Daso, u see the Japanese doing it differently. Here, quality is been presented to us as a more important factor to consider than quantity. Therefore, u see products with very nice packaging and stuff.

So how about friends? Which is the factor u truly want, the quantity(no.) of friends or the qualities of a true friendship. In this modern society, we are blessed with many technologies. Like the Hp for eg, where we store all our friends and love ones' nos. , ever felt the sense of uneasiness and hopelessness when the Hp is lost/you forgot to bring out of the house? Or how about friendster, facebook, myspace, online forums and others, do we find it a sense of pride and satisfaction when we have a certain no. of friends or reach a certain status in the forums?

Don't get me wrong here, there's nothing stated in the Bible that says u cant register and sign up for them. I'm just saying is the time and energy used to chase after large quantities of friends worth it?(Unless u know for certain, that God has spoken that this is your ministry) Or at the end of the day/during a crisis, how many of these friends will really respond and come to our aid/side to support us? Sadly, in this world, be it friends or colleagues, we do to some extent make use of one another and thus, many are abandoned when their worth is no longer there.

So are friends still worth having? Of course they are, that's what God has given to us, especially if they are believers. Followers of Christ and great support to one another in life as well. However, be it they are christian or otherwise, we still love them and accept them as who they are. Friends normally come together when interests or common characters are similar. And as time moves on, numbers are added into the group as the Lord blesses the fellowship. Kind of similar to the olden times in the bible where it is written that God added new followers into the group of already recognised believers.

And it is here where u see the cell grp. Over the years, many are added into the mix and clicks do form somewhat. It is here where new comers do at times find it difficult to break into them cos in their eyes its a closely knitted grp of friends who already accept one another as who one is. But, they miss the point that in a cell context, we do our best to love and accept one another as who a person truly is without forcing them to change to become what we want. Of course, this will take some time to change their mindset as well as their individual efforts to foster friendships with the ppl in cell .

But even so, there is no need to rush to knowing all 26 other ppl in the cell well enough to a certain extent. This is because once placed into the mix, a strong network of friendships form and all it takes is for 2 close individuals to spread the blessing God has given to them. We don't have be worried about trying to know the quantity of ppl here but instead focus more on building up the quality with close friends 1st. And just as God adds more into the group over the years, in his timing, we'll get to know those among us on a greater level.

Personally, I'm thankful to the Lord for the current season where I'm force to spend my time wisely and give proprieties to different groups as well. From family to close friends, cell mates to good friends, to the adults whom i play badminton with, ministry & the camp com, time is never enough to set aside for them. Anyway, one will just drop dead if u meet up with all of them within a short period of time. (Pls don't try to ever go beyond your limits in mtg up with ppl). In the scientific term added with spiritual sense, to have kinetic energy, one needs to store up potential energy in order to expand it. And that's where spending time alone to recharge in God's presence gives one the potential energy to turn it into the kinetic energy, so that we can be a blessing to those around us. And yet, for the current moment, where he chooses, i'll hang out with, for it's always worth the time and energy to build upon all these relationships.

Cos why, as the saying goes, true friendships withstand the test of time. And i've seen how God has done wonders in this part. Was telling a close friend of a simple prayer in the form of that God help me find time to spend with those friends who are closed to me. And yes, despite my own bz-ness and tiredness, the prayer was answered in the manner where the ppl ard you automatically organise mtgs up together. (Save me the trouble of having to think where to eat for dinner, woohoo!). So despite our individual lives in which one moves along with, that causes us to meet up less @ times, the time spent back then to build up these frienships became the very foundation upon which God has given to us to continue to stay in touch with one another.

In life journeys, sometimes even close or gd friends have to move along on a different path for a certain period of time but that doesn't mean we can't update one another and still meet up. The true qualities of a friendship is when we don't have to spend a huge effort to get into the mindset of hanging out, sharing and enjoying one another company. God has built up each friendship to the extent where i'm sure there's at least one person besides God in this entire world that you are able to find it comfortable enough to share deeper stuff and that you really value this friend that God has given to you and the company that he/she provides.

Just as we sang, "Redeemer, Saviour, Friend" during cell, don't ever forget that the Lord our god is also the closest friend we'll ever have and he's the 24/7 hot line if u ever need him. And next up, close friends who put friendships on the line @ times to keep us on the right track. Cos only true friends are honest enough to be frank to us in the hope that each one of us can change for the better in God's eyes.

This is why for friendships especially, its the quality, not the quantity. Agree ? (Of course one can still eat a lot of varieties of food, buy things from Daso, appreciating the cute and unique things they offer and still log unto facebook to do what u want. We just need to know which is more impt to us esp. whenever our time and energy to give away is limited).