Some people are brought into our life to be a blessing and some are brought into our life to be a lesson. I saw this saying recently and I thought of a specific situation. I think we all have or have had a person is in life that is a blessing. I also think that we have or have had a person in our life that is a lesson. In the case of a lesson, in the beginning, our feelings may be hurt and we begin to pray. Then God opens our eyes to many things and as we pray for a specific person we find that instead of not caring for this person we feel sorry for them. I ask God to bless them. I learned about letting God fight my battles. Jesus Christ commanded us in Matthew 5: 44, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."
Some friends can be lessons. They may be a lot of fun, they may be like an idol to us or maybe they don't bring the best out in us. 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character." God does want us to have non believer friends but we have to make sure we influence them more than they influence us! We must set boundaries in these friendships so we are not separated from God. There may be times that we need to give up relationships in order to keep Jesus as our priority. While God wants us to love everyone, be kind to everyone and help everyone, our best friends should be strong believers. We need our best friends to be pulling us up, not tearing us down. We are warned in 1 Corinthians 15: 33, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" Scripture helps us discern between good and negative types of friendships. Proverbs 22: 24-25, "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared." Friends influence us whether we want them to or not.
John 15: 13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." A true friend is a wonderful gift from God. Proverbs 18: 24, tells us, "A man of many companions may, come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". We can share our pains and burdens with our friends. Our true friends will be there for us. A godly friend will point us towards Christ. Hebrews 3: 13, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." A godly friend will rejoice when you rejoice. Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Godly friends hold us accountable. Alone we are not always strong enough to resist temptation. When we are making poor choices a godly friend will help us get back on track. Life is hard and we need someone we can lean on. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." Godly friends make us better people. Proverbs 27: 17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."
Are your closest friends blessings or lessons?
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