In a world of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, we seem to be drowning in a vast ocean of weaker relationships while fatally thirsting for deeper ones.

There’s nothing wrong with having a large group of these social media friendships.   You tend to pick them up as you go through life.  It’s just that God wants you to have so much more than that.

You need some real friends.  You need some carbon-based humans in your life that actually give a damn.  The old timers used to call these sorts of people “inner friends.”

Inner friends are those that you allow to really get to know you…the real you.  They’re the people that will walk with you through all the highs and lows of life.

Social media friends tend to be merely spectators.  They just passively view the events of your life and respond with only an an occasional “like” or comment.  Their commitment level to you is so low that it’s often hard to know if they really care or if they’re just nosey.

In contrast, inner friends care and commit.  They stand by you when all hell breaks loose and they’re there for the long haul.  They think about you even when you’re not floating by them on their news feed.  They notice when you disappear, and when you reemerge.  They earnestly pray for you and occasionally pass along words of encouragement and support.

These sorts of friendships don’t just happen and they’re not the easiest thing in the world to find but, when you do find them, invest in them.   Invest heavily in them.  You will never regret it.