‘Friends come and…go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.’ Proverbs
18:24
Who are your true friends? Stop and think about that for a moment. How
many of the people you consider friends, truly care about you? How many
encourage you in your visions and dreams, and are there for you when you hit a
wall? If we’re honest, most of us would have to concede that a significant
number of so-called friends and associates aren’t there for us in a pinch. In
fact, many of the people we spend time with are time-wasters who drain our
energy and trivialise our dreams.
In the Old Testament David and Jonathan were willing to lay down their
lives for each other. And Ruth told Naomi, ‘Wherever you go, I will go’ (Ruth
1:16 NKJV). Do you have friends like that? If not, spend more time cultivating
relationships with those who genuinely care about you; who don’t feel
threatened by your success and want to see you succeed. You don’t need to be
cold or rude to the others. Maintain their friendship, but spend your serious time
with friends who believe in you and want you to achieve your God-given
potential.
Novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard said, ‘Call it a clan, call it a network,
call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you
need one.’ Here’s a fail-safe principle when it comes to cultivating great
friendships: whatever you desire in your own life, you must first give to
others. If you want true friends, you must become a true friend. If you want a
harvest of blessing in your own life, plant seeds of blessing in the lives of
others.
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