The Men of Iron Minute

by Ryan Zook | Curriculum & Content Developer

I Don’t Have Any Friends

“I don’t really have any friends.” 

I hear this a lot. It always surprises me that out of all the things that men struggle with today, friendship is one of the most difficult. Adult men are experiencing widespread friendship failure.  

We live in our world’s most connected and least connected times. We have accidentally traded authentic relationships for the appearance of connection. It hasn’t been a positive shift.  

Men of Iron’s name comes from Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This simple verse means a lot to us. The author’s assumption, as the Holy Spirit moved him, was that you would have other men in your life who are sharpening you. If you don’t have friends, you’re not being sharpened.  

I get it. You don’t have friends, but you’re still growing. You listen to your pastor, you have a podcast you like, you read the Bible, and sometimes you pray. Without friends, those things don’t have the impact they could.  

True friends know who you are. They know your strengths, but they also know your weaknesses. They know when you’re being honest and when it seems like you’re hiding something. They’re good at calling you out.  

Many of us use to have friends. Life got busy, your responsibilities grew, and your friends moved lower on the priority list until they eventually got bumped entirely.

I’ve been in the same boat. I lived for several years without really being connected to my friends. My wife noticed, and one day, she forced me to have friends again. It was frustrating. We fought about it. I don’t like it when my wife forces me to do something. But I’m grateful that she forced me to reconnect with my friends. They’ve become a big part of my life and my spiritual growth.  

If you want to know more about that story, check out today’s podcast. 

Those men sharpen me. They encourage me. They challenge me.  

Reconnect with the men who do that for you. Reach out to someone who has done that for you in the past. Be that friend for someone else.  

Text one of them right now. 

We can’t change a culture one man at a time if we don’t have any friends. 

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