"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  Proverbs 17:17

It is very easy to complicate spiritual things.  We try to figure out the formula to a healthy growing faith and we work to add knowledge that will make our relationship with Christ more vibrant.  That leads us to overemphasize things that are theoretical in nature and ignore things that are truly impactful. This is the case with relationships.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  Because there is supposed to be a spiritual thought in this column, you are wondering why I would dumb down my thoughts to a horizontal level when you are looking for something to vertically encourage you.  In my estimation, there is no separating the two.  If you make wise decisions with your social life you will enhance and strengthen your spiritual life.  If you make poor decisions socially, spiritually you will struggle.

Many people try to separate the two, but, that is not possible.  The never ending pull to have a healthy social life has dramatically affected many people's spiritual lives.  I don't want to affect your life negatively, so I want to give you a few things to think and pray about.

You must be wise when choosing your friends. Proverbs 12:26 says, "A righteous man is cautious in friendship but the way of the wicked leads Him astray."  Take that into account.  Are there certain people that bring out the best in you?  People who make you more like Christ or encourage you to spend time pursuing Him?  Those are the people that you should make time for.

On the opposite side of that, are there people who pressure you to do things that you know you shouldn't do?  Do you have friends that discourage you from living for the Lord?  According to this scripture, those are the people who you should be cautious about.

I am not saying that you should have nothing to do with people who don't love the Lord, I am saying that your relationships should be a point of prayer and intentionality.  Make wise decisions or your spiritual life will suffer.

Surround yourself with people who pick you up.  Let's face it, finding a friend is easy.  Finding a friend who encourages, helps, and supports takes more time, but that type of friendship is worth the time, effort, and sacrifice that it takes to find.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 talks about this type of friendship.  "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.  If one falls down his friend can help him up."

We all love being surrounded by friends, but what I a suggesting is that you put some time and energy into developing great friendships as opposed to just settling for relationships that come easily but might cause collateral damage.  If your spiritual life is truly your number one goal then you cannot get away from these principles.  You must willingly embrace them and allow God to protect you from dangerous relationships and bless you with great ones.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."  Proverbs 27:17

Do you have a thought on friendship that you would like to share? Do you have a question about relationships you would like to see addressed in this weekly email?  If so, send your thoughts and/or questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .