Being a True Friend
Submitted Steve Clark
August 7, 2025
Pr 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Dr. Wilfred Funk, the dictionary publisher, was asked to list the 10 most expressive words in the English language. I’ll just mention four:
- The most revered word—Mother
- The most beautiful word—Love
- The most bitter word—Alone
- The warmest word—FRIENDSHIP
I think he’s exactly right, especially on the word “alone.” We were not created to be alone, but we were created to walk and talk with God and others. Some think that God is only concerned with spiritual matters. Actually, Jesus died on the cross, in our place, so that He would restore our relationship with God, but also firm up our friendships with other people!
So the question is, how do you make friends? I’m convinced that true friendships are not simply found, they are made! We need to be careful who we hang around with. According to Proverbs 13:20, the last phrase literally means, if you hang out with fools, you will be broken. The closer I am to a person, the greater the impact he or she will have on my life. That means that I must choose my friends carefully.
I have found that there are three types of friends.
1. Fatal Friends—These are the selfish friends. We all struggle with self-centeredness, but it’s really tough to build a relationship with some who only think about themselves.
But then there are the friends that just want to use you. Pr 19:4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. “Separate” refers to being “out of joint” with someone. Those who use you will eventually break things off when they’ve taken what they’ve wanted.
2. Faithful Friends—When Howard Hughes was worth approximately 4 billion dollars, he reportedly said, “I’d give it all for one good friend.”
These are loving friends. Pr 17:17 A friend loveth at all times…. Loving friends know all about you and love you anyway! These are the friends that sharpen you, are honest, and confidential. We need people like this in our lives!
3. The Forever Friends—If we want to have a good friend, WE must work at being a good friend. Having said that, our friends, every single one, will ultimately disappoint us and let us down.
But that’s not true with God! He is that Forever Friend that will never leave us nor forsake us!
Reflection—A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.
