Dear friend, as you go forward, I
need to admonish you to show yourself friendly. Note though that this is different
from choosing and keeping friends an art for which you need help from the Holy
Spirit. It is best to let God choose your friends because anyone can be
deceived into making a friend of an enemy. Indeed, if you have many friends, it
is most likely that you have mistaken some enemies for friends. Though you and
your friends may not be alike, you must agree on very critical and fundamental
issues. Another thing you need to know is that all friendships are not meant to
last forever; so enjoy it while it last and move on when it’s time to move on.
Also, not all friendships are on the same level or exactly alike; you must
discern who is in your inner circle. Jesus had an inner circle so don’t let
anybody make you feel bad for having one. Some friends are closer than some.
Proverbs 19: 3 - 4
“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the
Lord. Wealth makes many friends, poverty drives them away.”
Success in any form comes with its
own problems; one of which is the people who feel the need to be identified
with you but only for their own benefit. They just need to perceive that you
will succeed and they start playing the part of friend. Though they are
believers, they have an agenda which is the same as satan’s – to steal, kill
and destroy. They desire to control and/or manipulate you with the ultimate
goal of preventing you from going forward. The truth is they are not your
friends and can’t love anyone other than themselves. As long as you do what
they want and don’t go forward, they are happy; but when you begin to fly they
hate you. Blinded by envy, they are unable to see God bearing you on His wings so
they fail to see that their problem is actually with God and hate you instead for
yielding to God. They will spare no cost to pull you down. Worse than enemies
who will declare war openly; these ones pretend to love you just to get close enough
to strike most viciously when and where you least expect.
Proverbs 18: 24
“There are friends who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than
a brother.”
Proverbs 14: 25 “a
truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.”
When they do well, you celebrate
with them; but they always have excuses for missing your moments and times of
joy and/or celebration. Believe me, it is deliberate. You accommodate their
wrongs but they amplify your mistakes and make mountains of issues that should
be ignored always wanting to make you look bad and yet insisting on sticking
with you. They blackmail you emotionally just to hold you bound unwittingly
making the friendship abusive. Don’t let anyone do that to you. They are being
evil and crafty; moreover, the friendship will still end albeit painfully.
Worse is the fact that they are taking advantage of you and controlling your
life; using you in the way that pleases them. It is most likely that in
pleasing them, you are displeasing God and making yourself sad but they don’t
care. We must discern our friends if we will fulfill our God given obligations
and attain to the heights that He ordained for us. True friends are life
savers; keep and respect them if you find them.
Proverbs 27: 17 “As
iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
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