An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a
wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound
your mind.
Buddha
Jesus on Friendship
John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, which someone
lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his
master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from
my Father I have made known to you.
Greatest Friend is God
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.
How To Pick Your Friends
Proverbs 12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his
neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 14:6-7 A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but
knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for
there you do not meet words of knowledge.
Proverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to
anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle
yourself in a snare.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company
ruins good morals.”
How To Treat Your Friends
Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you,
do so to them.
Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection.
Out do one another in showing honor.
Ephesians 4:29-32 Let no corrupting talk come out of
your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion,
that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and
wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all
malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you.
Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones,
holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony.
Importance of Friendships
Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people
falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a
brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
Proverbs 24:5 A wise man is full of strength, and a man
of knowledge enhances his might,
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens
another.
C.S. Lewis Friendship Quotes
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to
survival.”
“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of
Christian friends by a good fire?”
“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in
a circle of those who are.”
One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship
is to understand and to be understood.
Seneca
True friends stab you in the front.
Oscar Wilde
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let
those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
George Washington
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can
afford to be stupid with them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Aristotle
I have had friends in my life I never thought I would
lose and lost them to whatever things that come into a life unexpectedly and
take away what we treasured so dear. At times we never truly understand the
value of such friendship until it reaches its terminus.
As a youth, I had a cadre of friends I thought I would
never lose. I carried them into high school and things would change ever so
slightly and I would lose a few and gain a few due to circumstances of life as
we all do. But for some reason, something in my life experience gave me this
psychology within that tells me friends are valuable. When I say friends, I
mean true friends. Not those who came in with ulterior motives and sought to
gain what they could before they left. I mean those who came in with no
expectations, gained my trust, and stuck around to nurture a relationship that
continues with me no matter how long the absence or the trials we endure.
Something with me lives in my heart. My core. My soul. I
recognize it as the Holy Spirit. It tells me friendship is valuable beyond a
complete explanation. It is a need of the human condition that craves
interaction that enlightens in the most subtle of ways that we a good time as
just that when it actually builds memories that evolve who we are, what we
value, and who we become.
The recent days and months have not only been trying
ones for myself but also for those I call friends. One had his day in court and
came out the other side vindicated. I and many who sincerely call him friend
shared many prayers for God to see him through and our faith was rewarded.
Others were dealing with relationships or job loss or loss of significant
people in their life and needed the real support that true friendship brings.
That act of fulfilling our friendships ultimate duty, (being there) creates a
bond that cements who we are to those we value so much.
I remember those who were there for me. I used those
moments as a vehicle to maintain my faith and my own belief in who they believed
I am. The result was an ability to hang on and make it through to the other
side of a dark time where the light awaited. The light of the spirit and the
sharing of the spirit through the rare and priceless thing called true sincere
friendship. To be one makes us a better person and creates in us an empathetic
heart that sees life beyond our own needs and concerns and tells us our true
value is to of value to others. It makes us see ourselves as more than separate
people leading separate lives and feeling emotions unique to ourselves. We
share who we are with those we trust to share those things with and a bond is
formed that (whether we see it or not) is founded in spirit and love.
I mention friendship quite a bit in my daily life. Perhaps it is due to losing friends I never
thought I would and how those losses affected me. It was a mourning process I
feel in some cases I have yet to come through to other side. Those experiences
gave me an insight into the real value of a real friend and how they are not
merely interchangeable parts in a sometimes rapidly evolving life. Instead they
are the facets we use to create a life of value, of selfless action, of
prayerful intercession, and yes, spiritual growth.
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
Albert Schweitzer
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