Thursday, May 29, 2014

Friendships Matter

Friendships matter.



Who you decide to make your close friends and confidants can affect your life, positively or negatively. How they affect and influence your life will be based upon and determined by the kind of character your friends have. In order to advance in life, you must choose your friendships wisely, so that your friends can be an asset and benefit to you, and likewise, you to them, instead of a hindrance and disadvantage.



Again, friendships do matter.



The Holy Bible, in the Book of Proverbs instructs us to not allow ourselves to develop toxic friendships. Toxic friendships are those relationships which are dangerous to our progress in life, dangerous to our excelling in life and dangerous to our lives as a whole.



We all need to be careful of the company we keep. Some friendships are just not worth having and maintaining. If our friends are enticing us to do the obvious evil, then it is time for us to get rid of those kinds of friends and choose some better company to be around. If they are enticing us to lie for them, steal with them, murder and hurt others for no cause at all on our part, then we had better stay away from them.



However, there is another kind of company that we dare not be closely associated with, if we desire to pursue our God-given destiny and realize our full potential. Negative company, who attempt to limit our actions, movement and thinking are detrimental to our progress and success in life.



We need to ensure that the friends we choose are those who are uplifting, encouraging, believing and helpful to our purpose.



Here are just a few wisdom tips for choosing right, godly and wholesome friends:



1. Decide what kind of friends you want in your life. You can and should choose your friends, especially your close and trusted ones. Be friendly with everyone, but choose who you will hang around and allow to influence your life.



2. Ensure that the friends you choose are not practicing habits that you do not want to inherit. Influence is a serious and powerful thing. What you stay around constantly is bound to have an effect on you. So, if you stay around those of a negative or destructive disposition, it is very possible that they will have an effect upon how you think. Thoughts produce actions after their kind. So be sure to associate and be close to those who can influence and impact your life for the better.



3. Choose friends who can add value to your life, and to whose lives you can also add value. Some people may be our friends for only a period of time. Then it is time for us to move on and develop other friendships. Know when it is time to let go.



4. If your friends decide to develop friendships with others who lie, cheat, hurt people, or participate in other negative vices, then it may be time, if your friends cannot be persuaded otherwise, to cut the cord and move on. Have the strength to do so, because your life and well-being may depend upon it. Do not fear. God will bring you some new friends. And the new ones may help to advance your life more in your God-given purpose.



Friendships are a vital part of living. They can prove to be very costly, or very rewarding. So ensure that you choose your friends wisely, asking God for His help and wisdom. Here is a verse of Scripture from The Bible for you to contemplate:



I Corinthians 15:33 (The Amplified Bible)

"Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character."



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1mwpApR

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