THE SCARCITY OF TRUE FRIENDS

More than anything, choose your friends wisely.

THE SCARCITY OF TRUE FRIENDS

Absalom had just conducted one of the most impressive coups in history. Absalom was not an invader or someone from a distance. He was David's son. A son had risen against his father and removed the father from power. David was lucky to leave the Kingdom alive.

But this is not about David and Absalom. This is about David and Ahitophel. Ahitophel was David's bosom friend. They come from back in the day. They grew up in the trenches together. He was part and parcel of David's emergence as King of Israel. By the way, David did not become King on a platter of gold. He fought for it. He used the word “trenches" to describe his experience. For many years he was a refugee, running through mountains and foreign lands.

To make matters worse, King Saul constantly chased him and placed a bounty on his head. In all those years, Ahitophel was by his side. Ahitophel was an old friend. Or was he truly a friend?

As soon as Absalom got power, his true colors emerged. Ahitophel changed sides immediately and went ahead to offer dangerous advice that would ruin David forever.

Read these words;

“Your father left some of his slave women here to take care of the house. Go and have sexual relations with them. Then all the Israelites will hear how you humiliated your father, and they will be encouraged to give you more support. Now, let me choose 12,000 men to chase David tonight. I will catch him while he is tired and weak. I will frighten him, and all his people will run away. But I will kill only King David. Then I will bring all the people back to you. If David is dead, all the people will come back in peace.” 2 Samuel 16 and 17.

This advice was from Ahitophel, who had been David's friend for many years. Can you imagine this? This betrayal was unbelievable. Of course, this hurt David. He wrote about it on his blog, Psalms 55:12-14 MSG “This isn’t the neighborhood bully mocking me – I could take that. This isn’t a foreign devil spitting invective ­– I could tune that out. It’s YOU! We grew up together! YOU! My best friend! Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation...”

Betrayals did not end with David and Ahitophel. The 20th century is replete with such betrayals. In 1961, Joseph Mobutu betrayed his friend, Patrice Lumumba. Collided with foreign powers, Belgium, the CIA, and MI6 to arrest him and kill him, and then Mobutu was made President. He went on to rule Congo for 32 terrible years. Years in which he destroyed every fiber of society.

In the movie, Godfather of Harlem, the oracle of Jose tells Bumpy that betrayal comes from friends, not enemies. More than anything, choose your friends wisely.

Before I drop my pen, I want to point out one thing about David. David was a good friend himself. While it is easy to complain about a lack of true friends, you need to remember to be a true friend first. David exemplified what it means to be a friend. He made a pack with Jonathan, the son of his nemesis, Saul. Many years after becoming King, he sought Jonathan's descendants to keep them safe and elevate them. All through his career, he was committed to friends who helped him.

So, before you complain about the lack of true friends in the world, I dare to ask you, are you a true friend?