Results of Maturity

Bible Reading: II Samuel 9

Key Verse: Verse 1 – "And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?”

Key Words: I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake 

Jonathan had been a close friend of David’s down through the years, and now both Jonathan and his father King Saul had died in battle with the Philistines.

After David became king he desired to show kindness to anyone in Saul’s family.  There was one who he could show kindness to, the son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who was lame from an accident. David did show kindness to Mephibosheth but it was because of Jonathan that Mephibosheth received kindness from David.

One stormy night an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk said they were filled, as were all the hotels in town. “But I can’t send a fine couple like you out in the rain,” he said. “Would you be willing to sleep in my room?” The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted. The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said, “You’re the kind man who should be managing the best hotel in the United States. Someday I’ll build you one.” The clerk smiled politely. A few years later the clerk received a letter from the elderly man, recalling the stormy night and asking him to come to New York. A round-trip ticket was enclosed. When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5^th Avenue and 34^th Street, where there stood a magnificent new building. “That,” exclaimed the man, “is the hotel I have built for you to manage.” The man was William Waldorf Astor, and the hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria. The young clerk, George C. Boldt, became its first manager.

            Kindness does pay.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞We will choose today to be kind or unkind and then we will see the result of our actions. Which will you choose?

Giving

Bible Reading: Acts 20:28-38

Key Verse: Verse 35 - “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Key Words: It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

I could give one testimony after another of how God has blessed my wife and me. I believe because of our faithful giving of money, time and energy to the Lord’s work.

I have a plan for how much we give; it goes like this. I will never give more to pay any bill than I give to God. Then if I have a big mortgage payment, I pay it and we give more than that to God in one tithe. My number one financial output   goes to God.

A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson, She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. “Put whichever you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked the daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl. “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.”

I can almost assure you the little girl was a Baptist.

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Most every person at some point in their ministry is accused of always asking for money. My response to that is always, “Well if you’d give it voluntarily, I wouldn’t have to ask for it!” So remember it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

 

Being Responsible

Bible Reading:  Luke 15: 11-21

Key Verse: Verse 21 - "And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”

Key Words: I have sinned 

To me there is something refreshing about hearing someone say…I have sinned, or it’s my fault, or I did that!

I guess it’s refreshing to me because I hear it so seldom.  Normally we hear… It’s not my fault or they made me or I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that.

Taking responsibility for our mistakes; how refreshing!

Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison.  The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence-except for one man, who remained silent.  Frederick called to him, “Why are you here?” “Armed robbery, Your Majesty,” was the reply. “And are you guilty?” “Yes indeed, Your Majesty.  I deserve my punishment.”  Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, “Release this guilty wretch at once.  I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it.” 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞If you take responsibility for your wrongs, mark yourself as a part of a small group of people.

 

Excuses

 Bible Reading:   Luke 14: 15-24

Key Verse: Verse  18 - "And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.”

Key Words: And they all with one consent began to make excuse 

Nothing makes us look as bad as ‘excuses’.

Here according to a Bits & Pieces article are the top ten excuses as to why people didn’t do their job.

1.       I forgot.

2.      No one told me to go ahead.

3.      I didn’t think it was that important.

4.      Wait until the boss comes back and ask him.

5.      I didn’t know you were in a hurry for it.

6.      That’s the way we’ve always done it.

7.       That’s not my department.

8.      How was I to know this was different?

9.      I’m waiting for an O.K.

10.   That’s his job-not mine.

Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, once an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week.  Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, FL., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself.  He explains: “I call them Idas. ‘If I’da done this, I’d be making three million today.  If I’da practiced a little harder, I’d be a superstar.’  They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners.  When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn’t went straight to the streets and never left.  That moment after school is the moment we need to grab.  We don’t need any more Idas. 

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Do what you are supposed to, where you are supposed to; when you are supposed to and do it that way all the time – with no excuses.

 

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

Bible Reading:  Acts 15: 36-41

Key Verse: Verse 39 - "And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and

sailed unto Cyprus;”

Key Words:  And the contention was so sharp between them 

If the Lord was to line all the believers up in a straight line both Paul and Barnabas would be so far ahead of me that I would never see them.  But with that said, I can’t fathom these men of God having such a sharp contentious disagreement.

Disagreements come because two or more people see things differently and both demand to have their own way.

I do believe that Satan and the world smile with delight at believers arguing and belittling one another.

The two key elements in solving a disagreement are humility and more humility.

Although George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel.  When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞It’s always best to disagree without having a disagreeable spirit.

Communication

Bible Reading:  I Corinthians 15:26-34

Key Verse: Verse 33 - "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

Key Words: evil communications corrupt good manners 

We are told to speak the truth in love.  I’ve often said you can say pretty much everything you need to if you say it in the right way, at the right time, and in the right place.

A tip about communication is this – to make sure that we are not the problem.

Let me explain.

A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and concluded that she was becoming hard of hearing.  So he decided to conduct a test without her knowing it.  One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room.  Her back was to him, and she could not see him.  Very quietly he whispered, “Can you hear me?”  There was no response.  Moving a little closer, he asked again, “Can you hear me now?”  Still no reply.  Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but still no answer.  Finally he moved right in behind her chair and said, “Can you hear me now?”  To his surprise and chagrin she responded with irritation in her voice, “For the fourth time, yes!”  What a warning to us about judging! 

                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞It’s always wise to make sure that the communication problem is not on “our” end.

 

If You are Backing Up You are Going in the Wrong Direction

Bible Reading:  Jeremiah 3:11-25

Key Verse: Verse 11 -"And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.”

Key Words: The backsliding Israel hath justified herself 

These are the keys to identify a backslider according to Proverbs 14:14. First, you can tell because they are filled with their own ways. (They see nothing wrong with what they are doing.) Number two, the backslider is satisfied with where they are spiritually.

If you’re not moving forward spiritually then you are a backslider.

Jeremiah says the end result of the backslider is they will lie down in shame and will be put to confusion.

John Charles Ryle says of backsliding: “It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose ‘backsliding’ is the worst. A stranded ship, a broken-winged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins – all these are sad sights. But a backslider is a sadder sight still. That true grace shall never be extinguished, and true union with Christ never be broken off, I feel no doubt. But I do believe that a man may fall away so far that he shall lose sight of his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And if this is not hell, it is certainly the next thing to it! A wounded conscience, a mind sick of itself, a memory full of self-approach, a heart pierced through with the Lord’s arrows, a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation - all this is a taste of hell. It is hell on earth.”

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Return to God, where you are always accepted.

Let Others Know You Love Them

Bible Reading:  I Corinthians 13

Key Verse: Verse 8 - " Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Key Words:  Charity never faileth 

On this Valentine’s Day it is wise for each of us on this day of “self-gratification” to remember that love, real love doesn’t focus on self but on the one they love.

William Gladstone, in announcing the death of Princess Alice of the House of Commons, told a touching story. The little daughter of the Princess was seriously ill with diphtheria. The doctors told the princess not to kiss her little daughter and endanger her life by breathing the child’s breath. Once when the child was struggling to breathe, the mother, forgetting herself entirely, took the little one into her arms to keep her from choking to death. Rasping and struggling for her life, the child said, “Momma, kiss me!” Without thinking of herself the mother tenderly kissed her daughter. She got diphtheria and some days thereafter she went to be forever with the Lord. Real love forgets self. Real love knows no danger. Real love doesn’t count the cost. The Bible says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Song of Solomon 8:7).

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Every day we should let our spouse know that we love them.

It is Dangerous to Fall in Love with the World

Bible Reading:  I John 2:15-20

Key Verse: Verse 15 & 17 – " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever...”  

Key Words:  Love not the world 

Becoming attached to this world is a dangerous thing. Let me explain with an illustration:

Dr. George Sweeting wrote in Special Sermons for Special Days: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.

“I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But, it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. They may take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. And as Sweeting observed.  “Oh, the danger of delay!”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

 What to do: 

✞It’s always wise to obey God and “love not the world.”

 

Respect is Earned

Bible Reading:  Genesis 4:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 4  – "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:”

Key Words: And the LORD had respect unto Abel 

Respect comes from doing the right things. If you consistently do people right, you’ll earn their respect.

In an unscientific survey I asked some of our youth to name “the reason they respect others.” The number one answer, and I might add, the only answer was, “Because of the way they treat me; right or with love.” Then I asked, “Why do you not respect some people?” The answer will not shock you, but it was, “They do not treat me right.”

How we treat others has everything to do with how they respect or disrespect us.

Waiting to board a plane, on which he had a reservation, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., overheard the plea of a private at the ticket window: “I’m going overseas in three days. I want to see my Ma before I go. I can go home and back only if I travel by plane!” It was explained to him that every seat on the plane was taken. Just then, Brigadier General Roosevelt stepped forward and said, “I’ll surrender my seat to him!” “But,” protested a fellow officer to the general, “this is a matter of rank!”  “That’s right,” quickly replied General Roosevelt, “he’s a son, I’m only a general!” God conferred the highest honor upon us when He called us His sons!

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞ Give respect and you’ll reap it in return.

  

Problems are an Opportunity

Bible Reading: Daniel 3: 13-25

Key Verse: Verse  20 - " And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.”

Key Words: Cast them into the burning fiery furnace 

            Now I think you would agree with me that being cast into a fiery furnace is a problem, but it’s also an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to see God work, it’s an opportunity to show others the supremacy of our God, and it’s an opportunity for promotion (vs. 30).

Some years ago an energetic young man began as a clerk in a hardware store. Like many old-time hardware stores, the inventory included thousands of dollars worth of items that were obsolete or seldom called for by customers. The young man was smart enough to know that no thriving business could carry such an inventory and still show a healthy profit. He proposed a sale to get rid of the excess stuff. The owner was reluctant but finally agreed to let him set up a table in the middle of the store and try to sell off a few of the oldest items. Every product was priced at ten cents. The sale was a success, and the young fellow got permission to run a second sale. It, too, went over just as well as the first. This gave the young clerk an idea. Why not open a store that would sell only nickel and dime items? He could run the store, and his boss could supply the capital.

The young man’s boss was not enthusiastic. “The plan will never work,” he said, “because you can’t find enough items to sell at a nickel and dime.” The young man was disappointed but eventually went ahead on his own and made a fortune out of the idea. His name was F. W. Woolworth.

Years later his old boss lamented, “As near as I can figure it, every word I used in turning Woolworth down has cost me about a million dollars!”

Problems are an opportunity. We just have to have wisdom and discernment from God to see it.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Remember opportunities look a lot like problems! 

Everyone Has Their Own Definition of Faithfulness

Bible Reading:  Revelation 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Key Word: Be thou faithful unto death 

We would all agree that God commands us to be faithful to Him. The thing that I have found is that we don’t all define faithfulness the same way.

Faithful is:

·         Doing what I am supposed to do,

·         Doing it when I am supposed to,

·         Doing it the way I am supposed to, and

·         Doing it that way all the time.

Don’t make excuses for not doing what you are supposed to do. Don’t make excuses for not doing it when you are supposed to do it. Don’t make excuses for not doing it right.

Norman Geisler, as a child, went to a VBS because he was invited by some neighbor children.  He went back to the same church for Sunday School classes for 400 Sundays.  Each week he was faithfully picked up by a bus driver.  Week after week he attended church but never made a commitment to Christ.  Finally, during his senior year in High School, after being picked up for church over 400 times, he did commit his life to Christ.  What if that bus driver had given up on Geisler at 395?  What if the bus driver had said,  “This kid is going nowhere spiritually, why waste any more time on him?”

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Be faithful to God.

God Loves You and Me

Bible Reading:  John 21: 1-18

Key Verse: Verses 15,16,17 – “ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (vs 15) “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (vs 16) “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (vs17)

Key Words: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these 

The question is not, “Does God love me?” for the very essence of God is love (I John 4:8). The question is, “Do I love Him?” for there is no doubt of His love for us.

God’s gift of Christ seems even more significant when you consider the vastness of our universe and our small role in it. If we were to experience a holocaust that destroyed our entire solar system, the massive inferno would be barely visible from the Andromeda galaxy. It would look like a match flaring faintly in the distance, then imploding into permanent darkness. Within this solar system which seems so large and incomprehensible to us, there lives roughly 7.6 billion people. To put that in further perspective, all of these people could stand shoulder to shoulder in an area about the size of Jacksonville, Florida (800 square miles). From the viewpoint of one galaxy among many, we are but a small spark on a flickering match. Yet, it was for this miniscule speck of humanity that Jesus Christ wrapped Himself in flesh so that we could unwrap the bounty of God’s unlimited love.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞ Let your love for God show through your life - for there is no doubt He loves you, but how much do you love Him? 

God's Grace is Amazing

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 8 –  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Key Words: For by grace 

No matter what we have in life, health, possessions, positions, or salvation. When we say we have these things we always need to add these words: for by grace, not just any grace but the grace of God.

When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for :is long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award –yet receives such a gift anyway – that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. That is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

      ✞Always remember – for by grace.

The Ministry is About People

Bible Reading:  John 3:1-16

Key Verse: Verse 16 – "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Key Words:  For God so loved the world 

The world involves three “Ingredients”.  First, there is the materialistic world (1 John 2:15).  Secondly, there is the world system (1 John 5:4).  These surely are not the things God loves; you can see that by the way he cautions us against these three ingredients of the world.  The third ingredient is people and that is what God loves… the people.  Ministry isn’t about things; it is about people.

In the 1950s, marketing whiz Stanley Arnold was working at Young & Rubicam, where he was asked to come up with a marketing campaign for Remington Rand.  The company was among the most conservative in America.  Its chairman at the time was retired General Douglas MacArthur.  Intimidated at first by a company that was so much a part of America, Arnold also found in that phrase the first inspiration for a campaign.  After thinking about it, he went to the New York offices of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane, and placed the ultimate odd-lot order.

“I want to purchase,” he told the broker, “one share of every single stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange.”  After a vice president tried to talk him out of it, the order was finally placed.  It came to more than $42,000 for one share in each of the 1098 companies listed on the Big Board at the time.  Arnold now took his diversified portfolio into a meeting of Remington Rand’s board of directors, where he argued passionately for a sweepstakes campaign with the top prize called A Share in America. The conservative old gentlemen shifted around in their seats and discussed the idea for a while. “But Mr. Arnold” said one, “we are not in the securities business.”  Said another, “We are in the shaver business.”

“I agree that you are not in the securities business,” said Arnold, “but I think you also ought to realize that you are not in the shaver business either. You are in the people business.” The company bought the idea.

If we fail to see that the ministry is people then we totally fail.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Love people, use things, for when you love things you will use people.

Sometimes "Adults" Will Be Kids

Bible Reading:  1 Kings 21:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 4 – “ And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.”

Key Words: and turned away his face, and would eat no bread 

Ahab is the king of Israel; he supposedly is grown and is by age a “full” adult.  Now here he is pouting.  While kids will be kids sometimes those who are supposed to be adults are kids as well. There are several character traits of an “immature children adult.”

·         They expect others to wait on them (serve them).

·         They would rather play than work.

·         They get their feelings hurt easily.

·         They expect most of the attention.

·         They cry and whine easily.

·         They will not feed themselves “spiritually”.

·         They expect the pastor and staff to feed them.

·         They only think of themselves.

And the list could go on.  The immature adult would rather put on a bib and be fed than an apron and work.  They make excuses and blame others rather than saying, “It’s my fault.”

There are those who are adults in age only who need to grow up and have a servant’s heart.  It’s one thing to be a kid at the age of 10, another to still be a kid at the age of 40.   Grow up!!

                                                                                                  Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞It’s time for some adults to grow up.    

Kids Will Be Kids

Bible Reading:  Matthew 18:1-6

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,”

Key Words: And Jesus called a little child unto him 

Kids will be kids and that can be a good thing for a child can and often will do things that we as adults would never do.  Let me explain by giving you an illustration from Celeste Sibley who at one time was a columnist for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper who took her three children to a diner for breakfast one morning.  Eight-year-old Mary was seated at the far end of the counter and when her food was served she called down to her mother in a loud voice, “Mother, don’t people say grace in this place?”  A hush came over the entire diner and before Mrs. Sibley could figure out what to say, the counterman said, “Yes, we do. You say it.”  All the people at the counter bowed their heads.  Mary bowed her head and in a clear voice said, “God is great.  God is good, let us thank Him for our food.”

Yes, kids will be kids, but that’s not always a bad thing.  There are things we can learn from them and not being so prideful is one of those things.

                                                                          Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Correct the wrong in your child, but never the right.

How to Have Friends

Bible Reading:  I Samuel 20:1-23

Key Verse: Verse 4- “Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.”

Key Words: Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee 

Jonathan befriended David and loved him as a brother.  Naturally, as a result of Jonathan’s love for him, David returned the same love toward Jonathan.  You see, the key to having a friend comes first by being one.

The old saying goes, “I went out looking for a friend.  I could find none anywhere.  I went out to be a friend, and I found them everywhere.”

Out of the furnaces of war come many true stories of sacrificial friendship.  One such story tells of two friends in World War I, who were inseparable.  They had enlisted together, trained together, were shipped overseas together and fought side-by-side in the trenches.  During an attack, one of the men was critically wounded in a field filled with barbed wire obstacles, and he was unable to crawl back to his foxhole.  The entire area was under a withering enemy crossfire, and it was suicidal to try to reach him.  Yet his friend decided to try.  Before he could get out of his own trench, the sergeant yanked him back inside and ordered him not to go.  "It’s too late.  You can’t do him any good and you’ll only get yourself killed."

A few minutes later, the officer turned his back, and instantly the man was gone after his friend.  A few minutes later, he staggered back, mortally wounded, with his friend, now dead, in his arms.  The sergeant was both angry and deeply moved.  "What a waste," he blurted out.  "He’s dead and you’re dying.  It just wasn’t worth it."

With almost his last breath, the dying man replied, "Oh, yes, it was, Sarge.  When I got to him, the only thing he said was, ’I knew you’d come, Jim!"

One of the true marks of a friend is that he is there when there is every reason for him not to be, when to be there is sacrificially costly. 

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞You want friends?  It starts by first being one.