Truth can often be stranger than fiction as one unfortunate thief discovered recently when he tried to commit a robbery at a Dublin shopping centre. He was arrested after his trousers fell down as he was being chased by two bread delivery men. They gave a description to the Gardai and he was easily identified because of his ‘colourful’ boxer shorts and the fact that he was wearing odd shoes. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery of cigarettes and making threats to kill the two men and is due to be sentenced in July.

This rather unusual story got me thinking. What do I do that makes me stand out? How will I be remembered today? Will it be an unkind word or an unhelpful comment? Will people think of me as someone who is preoccupied with his own needs, or as a friend who is willing to take time out to show them that he cares?

Danny (not his real name) discovered just how important that can be following the tragic death of his young son. “I’ve never wanted to visit a bereaved family,” he said as we stood chatting over a cup of tea after the funeral. “I was sure I would have nothing useful to say. But,” he added “I’ve learned a valuable lesson over the past few weeks. Lots of my friends have called to see me, and they haven’t had a clue what to say either. But they came, and that has made all the difference. It’s not what they said that mattered it was the fact that they came. And I’m going to do the same from now on.”

We easily forget that time is one of our most precious possessions. After all, it’s limited and none of us knows how much of it we will live to enjoy. This means we can be generous even if we have insufficient financial resources. We may not have much in the bank, but we can still be liberal with our time.

Gary Chapman understands this very well as we can see from the following quotation taken from his incredibly helpful book ‘The Five Love Languages.’

“Like words of affirmation the language of quality time also has many dialects. One of the most common dialects is a quality conversation. By quality conversation, I mean thoughtful dialogue where two individuals are sharing their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and desires in a friendly, uninterrupted context.”

Research commissioned for the BBC in 2008 found that UK society has become a far lonelier one over the last 30 years with the result that ‘neighbourhoods in every part of the UK have become more socially fragmented.’ And its been estimated that half of people aged 75 and over live alone with many saying they can go days, even weeks, with no social interaction at all And this is important because another report in 2017 also suggested that loneliness can prove as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Given this, I reckon a friendly visit could prove more than an encouragement, it might add a couple of years to somebody’s life. And guess what? You will reap the rewards too. Of that you can be sure.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]