What Does The Bible Say About Choosing Friends And True Friendship

Through Jesus Christ, we have found the value of our lives. And now we understand how to live what to follow and what must be given up for the sake of our eternal life.

It is important for each of us to know about the features that should be found in a person with whom we can make our friendship. Making the right decision for choosing our friends by our own understanding and knowledge will lead us to have a friend who will eventually mislead us from our target.

The word of God has the tremendous value to guide us to get the right person as our friends who will not separate us from our Lord rather assist us to build our relationship with him stronger and thus we will attain our goal.

The scripture has the authority and it dictates us to choose the person who will be worthy to be our friend. Without the instructions of God’s word choosing friends will be an error.

Let us see how to choose friends and what the qualities must be in the person whom we can call our friends according to the Bible.

Children Of God Should Be careful In Dealing With His Friend

The man of God must be careful in making friends with his surrounding people. God has given his guidelines to follow where one can understand his sinful condition and repents for his sin and that makes him live a new life. So, he should be careful while he makes friends. If he makes friends who are not born-again believers then he will definitely face trouble from the side of his friends.

Receiving Jesus and following him with faith makes a person different from this world. He becomes the enemy in the eyes of others who have not received Jesus as his personal savior. Thus it affects him in a negative way in his spiritual life.

Proverbs 12:26 “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.”

Friendship With Wise Leads To Life

The scripture warns us to not walk with fools but to walk with wisdom in order to get wisdom. Wise men have their eyes on their heads and they can see the incidents that will take place in the future. So their words and works are based upon the wisdom that they gained from the Lord.

When we come closer to those wise men, we also become like them and start to live a life that pleases God. But following the companion of fools leads us towards destruction. Somehow we may enjoy our lives for a short period of time and very soon we will realize that we are walking in the wrong direction.

So we must walk with wise men who have the wisdom of God and making friends with them will obviously lead us to get the life.

Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

Avoid Foolish Person And Do Not Make friendship With Him

God has given the scripture to his people so they may know how to live to gain its full worth. No knowledge can be gained from a foolish person and they have no wisdom at all. They only think for their stomach and depend upon their own knowledge.

The Lord says to stay far from them otherwise we may become like them. If we obey the word of God then we’ll really find life and it will give us joy and peace to survive.

There are many people who do not believe in the resurrection and the judgment that are waiting ahead of us. We must not make friends with them because we may follow their ways of living which will cause a great loss to our eternal destination.

Proverbs 14:7 “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.”

Do not make Friendship With Proud People

As the Lord is the creator of both the poor and the rich we must not look down on poor people. They are also created in the image of God. While we look down on them, we actually dishonor their creator.

We are to live a humble life by following the word of God. We should not make friends with people who are proud and dishonor poor people. It would be best for us to avoid them and live alone.

The Lord sees our heart and he will put us into judgment according to our works. Let us be very careful concerning our every single behavior with others.

Proverbs 16:19 “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

Unreliable Friends Leads To Destruction

For making a friend from this fallen world is not an easy task. One needs to seek God’s guidance by meditating on his word. Making friends without God’s guidance one will surely get a bitter experience.

Many may come to us and show themselves how much they love but their actual nature will be revealed when we are in danger and need their help most. Very few will stand at that time and those who will stay beside us during times of extreme need they are should be called real friends.

Only the friend who loves us will never give up our company at any cost.

Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Do Not Ever Make Friendship With An Angry Man

As the scripture teaches us not to make friends with an angry man it should be obeyed to be free from danger. God is all-knowing and he wants us to be wise by following his scripture.

Often we simply make friends with people whom we like but we neglect their characters. But we are to observe them carefully whether they are short-tempered or not. According to God’s instruction, we must be away from the presence of such angry and furious people.

Walking with them will not give us any profit rather they will drag us towards difficulties and trials in our lives. So it would be a wise and excellent job to stay far from those people.

Proverbs 22:24-25 “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”

As Iron Sharpens Iron

It is clear that God desires us to make friends with the wise men who walk in his ways. They will give us good advice which helps us to live a righteous life. Thus we can decide to make friends with them.

As iron sharpens iron one good-fearing man can help one who has no fear of God. He will be benefited by making friends with him and he will understand the need for God in his life.

A man who does not know God is foolish and he will lose his life in the end. But the hope of life should be learned from a person who already knows God and keeps his commandments.

Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

Jesus Is Our True Friend

We often seek a friend who can hear our emotions and feelings and take our side when we are lonely, but we can build our friendship with Jesus. Jesus offered himself as our friend. So we can boldly come near him and share all our emotions with him.

He is eager to hear us and he will answer us and help us to overcome our trials. He is our real friend who gave his life to save us from the wrath of God.

John 15:14-16 “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of.”

Wise Counsels are Needed To Win The War

In our lives, we come across many wars and difficulties that cannot be defeated by our wealth and strength. We can overcome such incidents with wisdom. When we make friends with wise men then we get ideas from them and overcome our life issues.

God gives us wisdom through his people so his children can be saved from the wicked plans of Satan. We all know how king Solomon reigned his kingdom. God offered him to ask anything but he sought only wisdom and he was a successful king by utilizing the wisdom that he gained from the Lord.

Proverbs 24:6 “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Leave Evil Companies To Be Saved

Evil friends will corrupt our good manners. They will compel us to follow their wickedness and in the end, we will lose our gentleness and meekness and all the godly behaviors that we received by following Jesus.

People may not understand why we are leaving their presence but being a child of God we can know the negative impact of staying close to such friends who are still walking in darkness.

We are the light of this world and we need to show God’s goodness in the hearts of the people by living a Christ-centered life.

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

Chose A Friend Who Walks By Spirit Not By Flesh

As Christian, we should live a holy life that is acceptable to the Lord. We no longer belong to this world but belong to God’s kingdom. Remembering our hope that we find in Christ, we make friends with Godly people.

People who are still walking in the flesh must not be called our friends. Our friendship with them makes us enemies of God. So we cannot please God by following them. Our works will be different and finally, we will be far from the presence of God.

Keeping the consequences of making friendship with worldly people in mind, we are to avoid them in order to live a righteous life which is most important for us to satisfy God.

1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”