June 1

Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.” — 1 Sam 19:4

One quality of true friendship, is the loyalty which speaks out for one’s friend in his absence, when derogatory things are said of him. In few ways is human infirmity shown in worse light–than in the too common willingness to hear evil things even of one’s friends. We must confess that there is something evil in a great deal of human nature–which delights in learning of faults, mistakes, or lapses in others. At least we must admit that there is a strong tendency in this direction.

But we ought to set the world the example of a friendship free from such malign weakness. We ought to refuse to believe evil of our friend, or even to listen to whispers or insinuations against him. Instead of being delighted at hearing injurious things about him, hints of wrong-doing in him, or of flaws in his character, such things should grieve us. The law of Christian love requires us to defend the character of our friend–as we would our own character. We are our brother’s keeper.