Mail to a friend“It’s better for us to eat a Twinkie with a friend than to eat broccoli alone.” This is a quote I heard recently when studying the idea that God has created us with a connection requirement. Yet our world teaches us superficial love. We’ve become increasingly more self-reliant, depending on no one for anything as the electronic age puts distance between relationships.
Dr. Carolyn Anderson, an ophthalmic surgeon, entrepreneur, and speaker as well as a columnist, recorded some findings about friendship, the real face to face kind. I quote this from a recent blog. “One study found that people with the most friendships decreased their risk of early death by 60% over a nine year period; that people with a number of close friends live on average 7-8 years longer than those who don’t maintain strong social connections. Harvard Medical School found that the more friends a woman had, the less likely she was to develop physical impairments as she aged, and the more likely she was to lead a joyful life. The loss of a close friend is equivalent to the risk factor of smoking.”
According to the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, a sense of being loved, cared for, and listened to fosters a sense of meaning and purpose, reduces stress-induced wear and tear on the body, and lowers heart rates, blood pressures, and stress hormones. Researchers estimate that, within a given time period, individuals who lack social networks are two to three times more likely to die from any cause than people who have lots of relatives and close friends.
In a recent article on adult health by Mayo Clinic staff members, they stated that good friends prevent loneliness, increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost happiness, reduce stress, improve self-worth, help you cope with traumas such as divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one, and encourage a person to change unhealthy lifestyle habits such as excessive drinking and lack of exercise.
In the book of Hebrews, chapter 10:24-25 we are admonished to encourage one another and in 1 Peter 4:7-8 we are called to love one another deeply. When God could very well read our minds, we are told to ask and seek Him for His answers to life’s problems. Relationship. God wants one with us and He wants us to have lots of relationships with others, especially those who are also His children. That’s why we should go to church, get involved, and even join a small group.
Kids today send anywhere from 10-100 texts a day but rarely have a face to face conversation with anyone. Even the boy/girl bantering back and forth with young teens is superficial…done through texting. Medical research proves that we were created with a need for real friendships, real face to face encounters, and with the more people the better. Their research proves that “It’s better to eat a Twinkie with someone than to eat broccoli alone.“
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