MY LIFE AND MY FRIEND [PART ONE]

In the journey of man on earth, it is impossible to live absolutely alone without the company and relationship with others. Man is a social being, that relates well with his immediate environment. Our relationship with other people exists in different form and kind. Family relationship comes first in the lives of everyone. No one dropped from the sky, at least not homo sapiens. We are all products of the reproductive ability of man which pin down every child born into this world down to the foremost relationship here on earth; the parents. Family is one of the best things that happened to man at least from the standpoint of an ideal family which should exist in our society. The next active relationship that seems at the finger tip of everyone is FRIENDSHIP. We all meet people daily as we go about living our lives. Amongst the multitude of people that we meet daily, there are often some special ones that tend to understand us better and go well with our own view of life. These few people are who we naturally call our friends. A mobile dictionary defines a friend as a person you know well and regard with affection and trust. The two core words here are “affection” and “trust”.

There are often some special ones that tend to understand us better and go well with our own view of life. These few people are who we naturally call our friends.

The currency spent in friendship is truly anchored on these two words. We build love and trust with those we call our friends over time and within a short period of time, the growth will become evident as strangers become acquaintances and then up till they find their way into becoming good friends that we can share our lives with. Now, during all these, there is need to understand how friendship is meant to work so as not to be carried away by the excitement of it and by so doing embracing the enemy in disguise! In this series, we shall be discussing everything you need to know about friendship, who your real friend is, handling friendships and how to avoid bad friends as we go along our journey into destiny fulfillment.

Friendship is like a coin with two sides. It can either be good or bad; there is no fence at all! As great as friendship is, when with the wrong friend, a lot of havoc and destruction can occur. It is worthy of note that we all tend to listen more to our friends than anyone else. Especially in the world of most youths and teenagers, friendship plays a bigger role of influence than any other social institution including family and religion! Teens prefer the advice of their friends to their parents at home. Youths will prefer the sweet words of their group of friends to what the Bible says and to what they are being taught to do in the Church.

This series is titled “My life and My friend” for a reason. Friendship is living. The power that exists in the influence of friendship is powerful enough to make or mar someone’s destiny. To put it in black and white, who your friends are goes a long way in evaluating and weighing what will become of your life; it is only a matter of time. We all know the old saying “Show me your friend….”, which depicts that good friendship equals good lifestyle and vice versa. The best description of you can be found by just checking out one of your close friends. One quick question; Are you alright with your current friends being concluded as the best definition of who you are? Do you share the same values and objectives? What about your belief system? Are they worth trusting your entire life journey with? If the answer is negative, then this series is for you! Together, let’s journey into what it takes to be a good friend, a bad one, and how to protect your life from the havocs of bad friendship!

Are you alright with your current friends being concluded as the best definition of who you are? Do you share the same values and objectives? What about your belief system? Are they worth trusting your entire life journey with?

Friendship runs on affection and trust. We tend to build trust people that enter our good behavior record over time. As trust and affection build up, we start to bond well and accept each other’s differences, and then friendship is initiated! Most times, we forget to ask the right questions while choosing friends. Some people rush into friendship and before they realize it, they are already well into the other person so much that it becomes an issue to disentangle. The earlier you start taking your relationship seriously, the better for you! Friendship is not supposed to be rushed into. It is a decision that requires special attention and carefulness knowing that friends will always have access to your life. You get to dance to their tune, listen to their words, enjoy their company, amongst many other beautiful things. However, it is not too late to take care of the mess in your friendships. The answer to that is coming up soon here.

How is the ideal friendship supposed to work? An ideal friendship is a relationship whereby the two parties understand the basics about each other, what they both stand for and ready to blend together for the sake of bringing out the best out of each other. Amos 3:3 says, Can two walk together except they agree? (paraphrased). There must be agreement and acceptance on a lot of important issues. Beliefs, life goals, how you both see the future, what you want out of life, and most importantly, godly children of the most High! When your friend shares your view about life, the journey becomes easier. The Bible explained some qualities that must be found in every important friendship relationship. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. When you are with the right friend, there is no shaming, there is no fear, you will always find comfort and support in the arms of your friend. Friends push each other into attaining all of God for their lives. The ideal friendship will give room for good advice, encouragement, strict and reality display and adherence to godly instructions. When your friend loves the Lord, serving God becomes easy for you and at that instance, friendship becomes your new platform to grow deeper with God as you explore the beauty of being God’s children together with your friend!

The ideal friendship will give room for good advice, encouragement, strict and reality display and adherence to godly instructions.

Bad friendship on the other hand is like virus inside computer gadgets. It is poisonous, it destroys! Just one bad friend is enough to influence you out of God’s will for your life in many areas. Remember, who directs a man’s life matters. If your friend is not under the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit, then there is definitely someone else that is in charge of that friend, the devil! There is no sitting on the fence in issues like this. A friend of such won’t mind if you go astray, drift from divine guidance, violate laws and disregard all that seem to be helping your life move forward. The little details matter more! The truth is the smaller company that we keep matters more and add more to our lives than the general public does! So, all you need to do is to keep the right circle around you. You don’t need the whole world, all you need is a faithful friend. But more importantly you must keep out the foul eggs in your basket! Having just one bad friend will wreck more havoc and cause more trouble into your life than not having friends at all!

The first step to getting it right after understanding what friendship means is to send the bad friends packing from your life! See, a lot of things can change in your life when your relationship changes! The company of people you keep around you will tell me if you will truly fulfill destiny or not! Remember, if your friends make you disobey God, you’re definitely making God unhappy! Can you give up those wrong friends so your life can move forward?