There seems to be so much that has gone wrong in our world today. The leading causes of death are suicide, medically assisted death and opioid overdoses. Children are confused about gender, so many young people are involved in street gangs, middle aged people struggle with mental health issues and so many old people are lonely and depressed.

Loneliness, the lack of meaningful friendships, is a common thread in all of these. I won’t attempt to claim it is the only factor, but I believe it is an aggravating factor in all the problems I have mentioned.

The COVID confinements were perhaps the last straw, but the real causes were there long before COVID. Number one would be the deterioration of that special form of friendship that is marriage and family. Far too many children have grown up without knowing any kind of bond with their father.

Social media is another cause. It provides an illusion of social connectedness, while insulating people from experiencing real life connections with others. The avatar has displaced the real person.

Even Christians too often seem to be wearing a metaphorical mask in order to appear to others as living a victorious and joyful Christian life.

Yet friendliness can be just as contagious as a virus. So let’s take off those metaphorical masks and learn to listen to others with non-judgmental compassion. We may think we know the answer to the other person’s problem; perhaps what the person really needs is not our answers but our ears, our hearts. May we learn to listen without offering advice unless it is asked for.

What does it mean to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5)? Does it mean to use every moment in a way that is economically profitable? I much prefer Adam Clarke’s thought: “Embrace every opportunity to glorify God, save your own souls, and do good to men.”

If we would embrace those opportunities as they arise, might it not be possible to start a wave of contagious friendship?