Have you heard the expression that “misery loves company”?

It’s the idea that people who are miserable find some sort of comfort by being around other people who are miserable. I’ve also heard it used to express the idea that people who are miserable find some sort of comfort by sucking other people into their own misery.

But today I’d like to focus on something else. It is said that “misery loves company.” But couldn’t you rather say that the right company heals misery?

Consider Proverbs 27:9 (NLT): “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” It doesn’t say that the “never-ending misery of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense,” it says the “heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”

If misery loves to enlarge itself with more misery, surely heartfelt friendship enlarges itself with more heartfelt friendship.

So nurture healthy, faithful friendships.

They say that misery loves company. But I think the right company helps heal misery too.

By Matthew Ruttan

—My latest blog summarizes the recent 4-part series about how to be more content in a world of more more more. Here is the link to the summary. Enjoy!
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.