Page 52 - The Secret Behind Our Trials

THE SECRET BEHIND OUR TRIALS
when you need one. However, friendship, loyalty, and faithfulness
are very important in a person's life, for those who are in financial
difficulty or ill, or in need of spiritual support, want a real close
friend at their side—a friend who is a believer—to help them. But
since all relationships in non-religious societies are based on oppor-
tunism, unbelievers can never find a true friend. Only when they are
in trouble or need do people see the real face of those whom they
had always considered to be their friends. Their supposed friends
even give trouble to them in such difficult times. For example, peo-
ple going through times of need complain that no relative calls, that
they are left alone, and that no one gives them any support.
For example, a wealthy person who drives an expensive car
and eats in gourmet restaurants generally has a wide circle of
friends, including many close ones. But if he loses his job and starts
to work in a salaried position in his own factory, how will his rela-
tionships fare? Will his circle of friends show him the same love and
respect that they did when he was rich? Will he be treated with the
same interest, respect, and affection as when he wore expensive
clothes and drove a luxury car? How will he be treated if he dresses
modestly, does not throw his money around like he used to, and
does not treat his friends to dinners? Clearly, he will not enjoy the
same attention. Indeed, all of those whom he thought were his
friends will turn their back on him. When they meet him, they will
pretend not to see him or even might ridicule him. Actually, this per-
son's spirit has not changed; only his external appearance has
changed. But because his erstwhile friends rely on outward material
appearances, they abandon him in a moment, leaving him all by
himself.
Take another example, that of a married couple. When they
were married, they promised to stay together both in good times

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