A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24
STORY
Joseph Scriven had wealth, education, a devoted family, and a pleasant life in his native country of Ireland. He was born in Ireland in 1819. After receiving a university degree from Trinity College in London, he enrolled in a military college to prepare for an army career. However, poor health forced him to give up that ambition. Joseph then quickly established himself as a teacher, fell in love, and made plans to settle in his hometown.
Then the unexpected happened. On the night before Scriven’s scheduled wedding, his fiancée drowned. In his deep sorrow, Joseph realized that he could only find the solace and support with his dearest friend, Jesus.
Shortly thereafter, Joseph left Ireland to start a new life in Canada. He established a home in Port Hope, where he met and fell in love with Eliza Rice. Just weeks before she was to become Joseph Scriven’s bride, she suddenly grew sick, within a matter of weeks, Eliza, Scriven’s second fiancée, also died.
A shattered Scriven turned to the only thing that had anchored him: faith. Through prayer and Bible study he found not just solace, but a mission. The twenty-five-year-old Scriven dramatically changed his lifestyle. He took a vow of poverty, sold all of his earthly possessions, and vowed to give his life to the physically handicapped and financially destitute. Often, he would give away his clothes and possessions to those in need, and he worked without pay for anyone who needed him. Scriven became known as “The Good Samaritan of Port Hope.”
Ten years after Eliza died, Scriven received word that his mother had become very ill. Because of his vow of poverty, Joseph did not have the money to go home to help care for her. Heartsick, and feeling a need to reach out to her, he wrote a comforting letter, enclosing the words of his newly written poem, with the prayer that these brief lines would remind her of a never-failing friend she had in Jesus.
Sometime later when Joseph Scriven himself became ill, a friend who came to call on him happened to see a copy of the poem scribbled on a scratch piece of paper near his bed. After reading the scribbled words the visitor asked, “Who wrote these beautiful words?” Scriven’s reply: “The Lord and I did it between us.”
The poem that he mailed to his mother, and was found on his nightstand, was set to music and we now sing the hymn What A Friend We Have In Jesus, as the first stanza reads:
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
DEVOTION
We do need a friend in Jesus, as we are, as the third stanza reads: Are we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior still our refuge. Though, as much as we can be comforted by a heavenly friend, we are in most need of earthly friends.
A national health advisory was issued by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on May 3, 2023 regarding the seriousness of loneliness in our country, which he considers to be an epidemic. He wrote: Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health.”
In his report Murphy, reflecting on his conversations with individuals across the country, he shared a personal observation: People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” or “if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.” It was a lightbulb moment for me: social disconnection was far more common than I had realized.
Supporting the Surgeon’s General health advisory, Dr. Clay Marsh, a professor of clinical medicine at the West Virginia University, wrote an article for the online magazine The Conversation that was published on July 14, 2023. In that article he stated that: 1 in 6 Americans reported feeling lonely and isolated. The mental and physical effects of loneliness are serious as Marsh reported: As surprising as it sounds, social isolation and loneliness have the same effect on human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which is to say, it can shorten life span by up to 15 years. There are many causes for loneliness, though the professor did disclose: While there are no definitive explanations for these high numbers, experts have suggested several possible determinants: the mobility of the population, the shift from in-person to remote work and learning since the beginning of the pandemic, and the deep divides in society caused by social media and irresponsible news sites. To grab the attention of viewers, some advertisers and media leaders understand that human beings are biased toward messages that activate fear and loss. In fact, the scientific term “aversion bias” demonstrates people are twice as fearful of loss as happy for gain.
One of my motivations for Christian service is to repeat to myself the question, “When did we see you?” Lonely people are often invisible people. Silently encamped in their homes we are unaware of the hours, endless hours, spent in isolation. Worse than being unaware, I think many Christians are aware, though don’t fully realize the magnitude of grief endured by these mute sufferers. I am also saddened that a plan of ministry to these “outcasts” of society is never discussed, or implemented. It is imperative that we go to them.
In the newspaper comic Peanuts, Peppermint Patty is sitting with Snoopy on top of his dog house. Marcie comes over and tells her neighbor that she must come down “and go to school with me!” Patty, who is often lonely and misunderstood, refuses. In the closing frame, with Snoopy nestled on her lap, she says, “I’m going to stay right here because Ol’ Snoop is the only one who understands me!”
So many, so many people, young and old, need a friend who will sit with them.
Will you be their Snoopy?