Pyrite

Pyrite. You remember it from geology 101. Fool's gold. A common, less valuable imitation of the real thing.

Today's post is about...well, about something I learned recently. Something important, something I should have known already but must have forgotten. Something about fool's gold.

Instead of telling you the whole boring story, I'll boil it down to the basics, to the point where it sounds almost silly:

• I've been friends with a certain guy for many years. This guy is a Christian. He is also a very humble, unassuming kind of person: not flashy, never problematic, never obnoxious.
  
• I've become friends with some new guys. They are also Christians. They are a bit more lively, fun, and crazy, but also a bit more self-focused, I found out.
  
  
• I hang out in a certain social group with the old friend, and in another with the new friends.
• Recently, I invited the old friend to come along to an event with myself and the new friends. (Like George Costanza's "worlds colliding"!)
  
  
• At this event, I found myself (for various reasons) wanting to hang out with the new friends more than the old friend. I knew it didn't make any sense, knew it was not right, but I felt it nonetheless.
• Long story short, the new friends ended up pulling a stunt that really humiliated me. They promised to include the old friend and me in something, but ended up leaving us out. They were focused on making themselves look good, at our expense.
  

I learned three really important lessons from this:

1. If you've been friends with someone for a long time, don't take it for granted. A relationship like that is a treasure, and though it may not look as good as the "new thing", you should guard it like gold.
2. Things that are newer and flashier are many times not as good as they appear - be cautious. My "new friends" are still friends, and I still enjoy hanging out with them, but I learned that they have a long way to go to earn the level of respect and admiration I have for my "old friend".
   
3. If your heart is telling you that something is wrong, it probably is. Stick with what (and who) you know to be true.

I felt a bit ashamed that it took this episode for God to remind me of these obvious things, but I am a bit thick-headed sometimes. I come away from it with a new outlook on my old friendship, and a commitment not to neglect it for a poor substitute.

I come away realizing that the flashy, new friends were simply not a substitute for the "real thing".

Like fool's gold.