Are You Showing Yourself Friendly

October 1 2017

In the Book of Proverbs there is a Scripture that declares “A man who hath friends must show himself friendly” (Proverbs 18:24). In other words, a man who has friends has demonstrated that he is or is willing to be a friend. Not only that, he must continue to show that he desires the friendship.

What does that mean? It means that he will show how he values the friendship by being supportive, sharing good and bad experiences, frequently communicating, fellowshipping together, and having a genuine care and concern for the other person.

Too often friendships are one sided. One person finds himself responsible for the entire relationship. That person gets very little in return. They do all of the reaching out, giving all of the gifts and making arrangements to spend time together. At some point that relationship will falter.

If we really want a friendship to last, an equal amount of time has to be spent by both parties. This will further validate the common interests as you get to know one another better. Each person has a role to play and they must make sure that no one person is carrying the load.

True friends love one another and are capable of overlooking each other’s faults. They know that they are imperfect so they don’t expect perfection from the other person. They share confidences that no one else will ever hear because they can be trusted.

If you are without friends and desire them, I would suggest that you start by showing yourself friendly. Be consistent in your dealings with people so that it does not send the wrong message. People react to us based on how we interact with them. Hence, starting today show yourself friendly and expect great results.