What do you look for in a friend? Are those the same traits you display to your friends?

Proverbs 18:24

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

A Friend Closer Than a Brother

I have a very close friend who is closer to me than my own blood brother. He is such a prayer warrior and devoted to Christ. We always share each other’s lives, confide in one another, and have the trust in each other that it’ll be kept in strict confidence. The proverb says that whoever has many companions may end in ruin, but there is usually that one close friend who sticks closer to us than a brother or sister (Proverbs 18:24). Do you have such a friend? I find many who are looking for such a friend in his or her life, but I tell them to find a friend, be a friend, and be the type of friend you’d want to have.

A Friend Loves at All Times

There are many so-called fair weather friends who have come and gone in my life. They said they were my friends, but when the going got tough, they got going. Others were my “friends” only because they needed something: a loan, a ride, or a favor. When I found out I was being used, I found out they were not really my friends at all. In nature we call these “leeches.” They always suck the life out of you and never give anything in return. The proverb says that a true friend loves you at all times, good and bad, and there is a brother and sister born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). That’s the kind of friend you want, isn’t it? That’s the kind of friend you should be to someone. You love them during the good times and bad, during the joyful times and times of grief. True friends don’t bail out when the going gets tough.

Need a Friend? Be a Friend!

If you are looking for a friend, you must be the kind of friend that you’d want. No one wants a “one-way” relationship. That’s no fun at all. Once we have a friend, we should never forsake them in their old age, and neither should we forsake a friend of the family (Proverbs 27:10a). If you do, you’re not really his friend. Jesus said we are His friend if we do what He commands us to do (John 15:14). If you disobey Jesus, is He really your friend? God spoke to Moses, as it were, face to face as one would a friend (Exodus 33:11). Why did God consider Moses His friend? Because, just as Jesus said, we are God’s friends if we obey Him, which is why Moses was a friend of God. Let me ask you the same question I ask myself: What do you look for in a friend? Are those the same traits you display to your friends? If not, then you’re not really their friend and you’re not someone that others would want to have as a friend

A Closing Prayer

God, You are such a friend of sinners. I just look at myself as a supreme example. I am amazed at Your grace. I want to be a friend of Yours, God, so please forgive me when I don’t act like one. In Jesus’ glorious name I pray.

Amen