Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s confidant. – 1 Chronicles 27:33

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 5, 2016): 1 Chronicles 27

French Philosopher and Author Albert Camus is credited with the words - “Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Camus’ words highlight what might be our most universal need, and possibly our most overlooked treasure. The world that I live in is an extremely busy one. My to-do list often seems to be never ending. And the truth is that friends take time to develop and nurture. It often seems that in the busyness of life, it is easy to forget our need for a friend. But no matter how important or busy we might be, friends are never optional. We must find them and cultivate them. Our own well-being depends on the friends we are able to gather around us and invest in.

Ancient cultures might have understood that better than we do. For ancient kings, the office of the friend was often institutionalized. It was simply a position among the king’s cabinet. The drawback was that often that meant that the friend of the king was not really a friend, just someone who filled the position. An intimate trust relationship, which really defines friendship, was not necessarily present between the king and the one chosen to be his friend. But that does not seem to be the case for Ahithophel and Hushai. They seemed to have been true friends of David.

But friendship never comes without risk. And the story of Ahithophel and Hushai is a story of both the good and the bad side of friendship. Hushai proved to a good friend for David. Even during the rebellion of Absalom, Hushai stayed true to David. He acted as a spy for David within the camp of Absalom, feeding David important information that would ultimately prove to be a key factor in David’s attempt to put the rebellion down.

Ahithophel, on the other side of the friendship coin, abandoned David for Absalom during the rebellion. It was not the first time that Ahithophel seemed to withhold information from the king or steer him in the wrong direction. After Absalom’s rebellion ended, Ahithophel committed suicide by hanging himself. Judas Iscariot is often seen as a type of Ahithophel, a friend that proved wrong in the end. And both men ended their lives with suicide by hanging.

But the possible risk doesn’t outweigh the need for a friend. No matter what the risk might be, we all need the one who will dare to walk beside us rather than in front or behind. We need the one that we can simply “be with.”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 15