By Chris WittsWednesday 18 Oct 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Subscribe to Morning Devotions podcast
Transcript:
When Jerry Seinfeld began his comedy show, which eventually was watched by millions of people over the years called Seinfeld, he paid one of his New York buddies what he considered to be a big compliment. He named a character on the show after him. Now his friend was Mike Costanza. The character on the show was George Costanza. What’s more, after the show became a big success, Jerry arranged for Mike to get a small part in one of the episodes.
And apparently Jerry Seinfeld valued his friendship with Mike and was very grateful. At first, Mike Costanza reveled in the glory of having a character on the show named after him. There were, you know, more than a few similarities between him and George, and he bragged to his friends that he was George. But the George character was not entirely based on Mike Costanza.
He wasn’t very happy about this. The writers of this TV show had George do some things that Mike found embarrassing. For example, George danced happily when he found out that his fiance had passed away. He knocked down a little lady in a rush to get out of a burning building. He took advantage of people, and Mike was very unhappy. He had enough. The George Costanza character was ruining his life. The people that he had impressed earlier now saw Mike as the ultimate loser.
He wasn’t a happy man, so he did this. He sued his good friend Jerry Seinfield for $100 million for using his name. That’s a true story now. The point of that is that sometimes friendships go wrong. They can turn very ugly. And even someone as famous as Jerry Seinfeld is not exempt from a failed friendship.
Relationships with other people, even friends, family – they aren’t predictable.
They can turn nasty. You might know what I’m talking about, and most of the joy that we experience in life is a result of relationships. This applies to marriage, friendships, relationships between a father and child or relationships at work. When you’re surrounded by people you love, people that love you, the hardships of life become more bearable.
But on the other hand, no amount of success can ever compensate for the pain of a failed relationship and that’s what I’m talking about today.
You need to manage your relationships
Those who consider friendship and marriage a disposable item usually find themselves alone unhappy. On the other hand, a recent study published in the Men’s Health magazine actually reveals that the happiest and healthiest people are those whose relationships are strong and fulfilling.
And it even showed that happily married men live longer than single or divorced men.
I think loyalty is a big part of any relationship, the people closest to you need to know that they are important to you. And there’s a story about a guy who just recently married a lovely young lady who was beginning to wonder whether she might have married him just for his money. If I lost all my money, he said, would you still love me? And she put her arms around him and said, Oh, honey, don’t be silly. Of course I’d love you. I would miss you terribly, but I would still love you.
Those people closest to us need to know that they have our loyalty. In the Bible in the Old Testament, Solomon said, a man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Now Solomon, he kind of sees the difference between companions and close friend. A companion might be like an acquaintance. There’s a difference between knowing a person on a surface level and having a valued relationship with someone. So there’s a difference. I hope you’ve got a friend, a real friend, and people need your commitment to listen to them. This is an important part of having a good relationship, isn’t it? Some people hear you, but they’re not really listening.
You know the old joke. Two guys were playing golf. My wife’s got a real problem. One of them says she talks to herself all the time, and the other guy said, my wife talks to herself all the time as well. If she doesn’t know it, she thinks I’m listening.
Well, really, one of the greatest gifts you can give is the gift of listening to what others say. Many people don’t listen with an intent to understand. That’s why the proverbs in the Old Testament, says he who answers before listening, that’s his folly and his shame. And James the Epistle says be quick to listen and slow to speak.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, may there be a good relationship with others in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.