Friendship

What is a good friend?

1. A friend loves unconditionally (Prov 17:17).
2. A friend trusts completely (Prov 18:24; Jn 15:15).
3. A friend keeps healthy boundaries (1 Cor 13:4).
4. A friend gives heartfelt counsel (Prov 27:9).
5. Friends mutually edify each other (Prov 27:6, 17).
6. A friend speaks the truth in love (Eph 4:15).

John 15:15           "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

Prov 17:17           "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity."

Prov 18:24           "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Prov 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."

Prov 27:5-6     "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

Prov 27:9 (NLT)         "The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense."

Prov 27:17 (NLT)       "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

Eccl 4:9-12 (NLT)       "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. ¹⁰ If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. ¹¹ Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? ¹² A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."

Eph 4:15          "...speaking the truth in love."

Col 4:6                        "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."