HOW FAITHFUL A FRIEND ARE YOU?
Proverbs 20:5-9
In her song, Count on Me, Whitney Houston, sang: “Count on me through thick and thin; A friendship that will never end; When you are weak I will be strong; Helping you to carry on; Call on me, I will be there; Don’t be afraid, Please believe me when I say; Count on me”.The song is an affirmation of the fact that sometimes in our lives; we need someone to be there for us. No man can survive as an island. You can’t have it all.
But we are often disappointed by the unfaithfulness of people towards us. Time and time again, we are faced with a situation where a friend that promised to be there disappoints. A Pastor, who we expect to visit, doesn’t do so. A family member, who promised to assist, does not show up. Then we make the phrase in Verse 6 our proclamation: “Who can find a faithful friend?”
What we fail to do is weigh our own faithfulness. How faithful a friend are you? It is not enough to be faithful to God or your spouse. Faithfulness is required in friendship too. There is little or nothing you can do about the commitment of other people toward you. But you can ensure that you are true to your words and commitment to others. Make yourself a faithful friend indeed. A faithful friend is trustworthy and can be relied upon. When you make promises, ensure you stand on your words. Make yourself available.
Being a faithful person is not what you can achieve by yourself. You need to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit to strengthen you as faithfulness is one of the fruit of the Spirit.
Memory Verse: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
MEDITATION: Am I a faithful friend?
