The right friend will build you up. The wrong friend will destroy you. Many will have their plans and lives 
changed because they picked the wrong friend or gave them the wrong priority in their lives! Many do not even know what a true friend is. It is so important to have the right friends.
Here is a short study on what the Bible says about a true friend and being a friend:
Friendly all the time! A true friend loves us during the hard times, as well as the good.
Proverbs 17:7 “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18 A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.”
Proverbs 27: 10 “Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.”
Friendly first! A true friend is friendly first, rather than waiting for others to approach him first. Proverbs 18: 24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Friendly giving! True friendship is given and not bought. You cannot buy true friendship. Give friendship and you may receive friendship in return. However, do not be friendly just to get it in return. You cannot make someone your friend.
Proverbs 19:6 “Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.” — But “buying” a friend with favors does not usually result in true friendship!
Friendly honest advice! A true friends tells us what they believe is best for us, because they care what happens to us.
Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend ; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27: 9 “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. 10 Thine own friend , and thy father’s friend , forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.”
Other Friendly advice:
- WAIT on the right friend. Do not take the first acquaintance that comes around as your friend. Do not be desperate; be patient!
- An acquaintance is not necessarily a friend!
- Pick a friend that you look up to, not down to, OR the relationship may bring you down.
- Pray about the friendship. Ask God how you can be a better friend, not just how that person can meet your needs. Ask Him to give you the right friend!
- Be honest with your friend. If they do not like the real you, or the truth, then they are not the right friend for you.
- Friendship is not popularity!
- Stick up for a friend. Never put them down, especially in front of others!
- Be a friend to someone that you feel needs one! They are often the most grateful!
- Obey your parent’s or other’s wise discernment about friends. If they say to stay away from a certain person, obey them!
- Marry a friend!
Proverbs 22:6 is “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” …. The verse you quoted is Proverbs 27:6.
Oops … Thanks for catching that mistake. I changed it. :>)
Brother,
I love this devotion…. immediately when I started reading it, my standard buddies speech came to mind about the beagle hounds…glad to see I left it in the comments a year ago.
Love the comments too!
Isn’t it true for most of us that we will be fortunate if we have as many as 5 really good true friends in our life? I can count mine on one hand. I don’t think that makes me a bad guy or a bad friend myself, but I think it speaks to the commitment and depth of that special relationship. Truth is, most of us really cannot manage more than a few because of the time and commitment required. In fact, if anyone tells me we have more than just a friends, then I wonder if they are actually “buddies”
A true friend is one you have not seen in years and can talk with as if you saw them the other day .
Yeah, I have a few like that…
Bro. Brinkworth,
This is an excellent devotion! I have homeschooled our children, so we have had great opportunity to “pick” their friends by having control over with whom and when they fellowship. However, our oldest daughter did go to public high school.
One of the biggest hurdles for her in adjusting to public school vs. home school was learning discernment in choosing friends. We would advise against certain people and her response would be, “But the Bible says we’re not supposed to judge others! Isn’t that judging them to not befriend them?”
We had to explain to her the difference in being an “acquaintance” and being a “friend”. She was right that we are not to judge others in that we are called to show the love of Christ to all by being kind and polite, thus, having acquaintances. However, those we allow past arms length should only be those, as you said, who will lift us up not pull us down. Friends should only be godly influences in our lives. They should draw you closer to God as you should them. This not only applies to young people, but to adults as well.
Thank you for your daily dose of inspired, annointed wisdom. I look forward each day to reading what the Lord has given you. May the Lord bless you greatly for your service through this ministry.
I appreciate your homeschooling. I have helped publish Landmark’s Freedom Baptist Curriculum which is used in many homeschools. My daughter was home-schooled when a good, church-centered Christian school was not available. Bless you in your efforts! Yours is an important ministry.
I appreciate your writing and sharing your experience. It is not only important to know what the Bible teaches in many areas, but how to apply it. Your wisdom in homeschooling may be a help to others. Thank you!
Part of my job is dealing with a lot of young men in their 20’s. One of their biggest obstacles are “so called” friends. I see it do harm time and time again. The keyword I look for in that age group is “buddy”. My buddy this, my buddy that, my buddy said, my buddy did….etc… It seems to be code language for “the guy that gets me into things I have no business doing”. If I interview a young man that spends a lot of time talking about buddies and all they do, I politely move on to the next candidate. That is almost a sure recipe for letting them go later, after the company has invested in them.
The same is true for young women, I am sure, but I have years of experience observing young men and know firsthand. My advice to any parent that has a young man in school where you still have influence is to pick their friends. If you want to have heartache, let them pick them. If your boys are in the government schoolhouse, be sure that Johnny is showing them pornography on their phone, Jimmy is introducing them to alcohol or worse, and so on. I would do whatever I could to steer them clear of that damage and ultimately hell itself.
This may seem horribly slanted to some. If so, I am sorry. Bro Bill is dead on in this devotion. Pick friends carefully. Make sure they are a friend. Learn to separate friends from acquaintances.
One man once told me his mental image of buddies were two beagle hound pups that chase rabbits all night, bark at the moon, and eat cow piles together… crude, but fitting. Sorry for the reference city folks..but they really do.
True friendship takes time like any relationship. Therefore, time dictates that any person will have few. By the time you take care of your #1 friend (your spouse), your work, your relationship with God, etc… it limits it.
Thanks Bro Bill. Despite all you have going, you keep hitting it out of the park.
I hope folks read what you wrote. Heeding your advice will save folks from having heartbreaks. Thank you so much!
When I was young, I ignored my folks and their advice on whom I should not befriend. All the major problems I had at that time all hinged around the person they told me to keep away from. Listen to the discernment from folks that have nothing to gain, but often your grief, when they warn you about certain people. Sometimes they see things you don’t.
Same here. Wrong friends. I consented to 100% of what I got into, but with other influences, would have been spared a lot of scars.
I wouldn’t assume that you have a lot of pre teens or teens reading this, but maybe a lot of parents that need encouragement that the check they are feeling from the Holy Ghost is right and they will resist the temptation to over ride that check. Feel good parenting usually doesn’t feel good later.
I love this devotion! It reminded me of David and Jonathan’s friendship! David and Jonathan loved each other as their own soul! When Jonathan realized that David was going to be the next King of Israel (and not Jonathan himself), he was happy for David, not jealous!
David and Jonathan made several covenants together, and when David was running from Saul, and was upset about what was going on, it was Jonathan that came to David in the woods and strengthened David’s hand in God (1 Samuel 23:16)!
We all need a Jonathan as a true friend in our life!
Yes, sir. People need to realize that true friends like Jonathan are rare. Children think they have many, many friends. As we get older, we realize that we are fortunate if we have one true friend. I married my best friend; best friends make the best spouses!