Godly Friendships
By Rachel Head
Do you ever have moments when you step back and ask yourself the question, “Is this healthy for me?” You may be thinking of when you look at a candy bar in the store, but what about in our Christian walk? Do we ever ask that question about different scenarios that we face?
As I go back to college as a sophomore, I am asking myself that question almost continuously. But I have been applying that to my friendships lately. During my spring semester and summer break, I realized that I was not as good of a Christian as I should have been. The main reason was the friendships I had made. I had allowed myself to be surrounded by people and things that I should have not been surrounded by as a Christian. As I started to realize the situation I had put myself in, I started studying about the different aspects of friendships I need to be looking for as a Christian, and I want to share a little bit of what I learned in this article.
First, we need to look at who we should not be around. Let’s look at Psalm 1:1-2, 6.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
These are some of my favorite verses because it states the facts of how we should be and what we should avoiding in our friendships. I heard a sermon one time that mentioned how this verse uses three basic physical actions: walking, standing, and sitting. The sermon stated that we should not be seen anywhere NEAR the ungodly, sinners, or the scornful. We should use another physical action run away from sin. I would like to say that the world is filled with these evil things and every time we go outside of our home, we are faced with these things. BUT if we are determined to obey Christ we should be willing to fight these evil things and search diligently for the right friends.
Secondly, I would like to look at the characteristics of the people we should surround ourselves with as Christians. Let’s look at Proverbs 24:6.
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
These two verses are amazing to me because they explicitly give us the characteristics we should seek in people before walking, standing, or sitting with them. We should seek those who are wise, not in a worldly sense but in a spiritual sense. We want someone who is a Christian and knows the Bible so that we can help each other fight our battles and help each other go to Heaven. And they can also help us increase our bible knowledge. Proverbs 27:17 states that “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Don’t we want friends who will help us get to Heaven? Our two top priorities in life should getting not only ourselves to Heaven but getting our friends to Heaven as well.
In conclusion, going through this study has helped me to realize who I should call and trust as a good friend. I have several amazing Christian friends who I have known for more than ten years, and some I have known for just a couple months. But if you find the right friends, they will stick with you for a long time.