The great work of life is not to save the world but to attain God Realization which, by being in the process of doing so, you have a tremendously powerful and positive effect on the world condition and consciousness.
Ideally, friendships lead us into deeper communion with each other; those we love mirror the divine reality and so draw us closer to the One they reflect. In our humanness, however, we can forget that the friend is only a reflection of God and instead invest ultimate meaning in the relationship.