A Friend Like Andy

(I wrote this one without consciously realizing I was going to North Carolina the next week...We stopped in Mount Airy, Andy Griffith's hometown, on the way down! )

One of my favorite channels is TV Land. So many of the fun shows I watched when I was young are still running there. And no show gets my attention more than the Andy Griffith Show. The simple life in Mayberry, the interesting people, the fix-it shop and the respectful children harkens back to a time of three channels of black and white television and no remote control. But the aspect of the show that keeps coming to my mind is the relationship between Sheriff Andy Taylor and his bumbling, but well-meaning, Deputy Barney Fife. Andy always looked out for Barney. He found chances for Barney to succeed, to receive accolades. He turned down plenty of opportunities when Barney wasn’t going to be included. Andy valued the friend and the friendship more than his personal accomplishment.

I wonder if you’ve ever had a friend like Andy. I suppose you might never know. You see Andy never let Barney in on the whole story; leaving him blissfully unaware of the good being done for him. I wonder if you’ve ever been a friend like Andy. Philippians 2:3-4 says: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”.

Andy wasn’t just making good television; he was modeling true Biblical friendship. Why not give it a try yourself? See you at the fishing hole!


Brian

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