Familiarity

 Have you heard the phrase that familiarity breeds contempt? The first printed recording of the phrase in French, circa 1340, read Trop grande familiarité engendre mesprisement, [Too much familiarity breeds contempt]. Many attribute the phrase origin to Aesop, however, since none of his original writings exist, there’s no authentication other than tradition.

But getting back to the point, the phrase’s attribute traditionally may come from the tale of The Fox and the Lion. The story goes that when the Fox first saw the Lion, he was terrified and ran away to hide in the woods. But over time, the Fox became close with the Lion and conversed to pass the time of day. But one day, when they were through passing the time of day, the Fox turned tail, and you can guess what happened. Getting too close to someone may cause us to see their faults and begin to have contempt for them.

I suppose this idea may be the root cause of so many divorces today. Spouses get to know each other in the day-in and day-out of living together. The proverbial public mask is ripped off, and all becomes fully known. The good, the bad, and the ugly become laid bare to our spouse. Without daily encouragement and love, familiarity and discontentment breed contempt.

This is not the case with Jesus! The closer we get to Him, the more we are able to love Him. The closer He gets to us doesn’t change how He feels about us one bit. He already knows us intimately, inside and out, every detail of our character. Our lives are already laid bare to Him. Therefore, there is no need to wear our public mask with Jesus. Don’t we long for relationships like that? 

Matthew chapter 6 talks about our “needs” for life, then in verses 32-34 says, “your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all, pursue His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

Be well and be encouraged!