Frenemy

fren·e·my: frenemi/ noun, informal noun:

frenemy; plural noun: frenemies

1. a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry (online dictionary).
   

Do you have a frenemy in your life, someone whom you can’t seem to live with but can’t live without? You love and you hate. You laugh and you cry. Are frenemy relationships sustainable let alone healthy? The Bible says not.

 

“Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24

“Decide this day whom you shall serve.”Joshua 24:15

Being a  frenemy of God is marked by trying to be in two places at once, in the world and in the kingdom. It’s also marked by trying to be two people at once,  a believer and an unbeliever. Torn in two. Standing on the fence.

I used to be that Christian.

When I became a brand new believer, my old friends were less than thrilled. I thought they would at least be happy for me, but my good news about the Good News was met by blank stares and nervous laughter. Confusion followed. I decided I could be the one person who could bridge the gap between the world and the Gospel,  the cool Christian who could laugh with the sinners and cry with the saints.  Not so. I ended up crying with the sinners.

God clearly states it is impossible to be His frenemy. We must choose. Friend of the world or friend of God. We can love both, but can’t be both.  Only One can be our friend. So how do we solve this problem?

The Bible has the answer.

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4: 6-10

Humility.

We humble ourselves before God, whether we feel like it or not, and tell Him that our plan to cozy up to the world while following Him just doesn’t work. Humbling ourselves will be hard. It will seem like a huge sacrifice. But He is our great reward.

Humbly ask Him to help you want Him more than the treasures of the world. Stop fighting. Stop posing. Stop faking. Be what you were created to be.

A friend of God.

by Mary Kay Kane

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