Reevaluating Friendships

The prudent carefully consider their steps.

It took a while for Sadie to find a true, lasting friendship. At first, she was friends with Mila, but Mila always seemed to have some kind of drama going on that revolved around boys, and her attitude and words were usually negative. Next she met Ruby, who seemed much more positive, but within just a few months she began acting jealous of any time Sadie spent with other people.

“I don’t know what to do,” she moaned to her grandma after school one day. “I don’t want to be alone, but I also don’t want to be part of constant negativity and jealousy.”

“Good friends can be hard to find,” her grandma said. “Just keep being friendly toward others and keep a lookout for someone who might be a good friend. It’s okay if it takes time.”

Sadie was still kind to Mila and Ruby, but she decided that she wouldn’t close herself off to other friendships. And it wasn’t until she bumped into Emily that she found a true friend. Emily was upbeat, and her faith in God helped bolster Sadie’s faith. When they were together, they spent hours laughing and being silly. Unlike the negative interactions she had with Mila and Ruby, Sadie and Emily had a positive, easy relationship. Though she remained friendly toward the other girls, over time her friendship with them diminished and her friendship with Emily became stronger.

When we make new friends, we can sometimes feel like we’re being disloyal toward our other friends. Yet Proverbs tells us we should think carefully about the choices we make. That’s true for major decisions like what job to work or who we should marry. But it’s equally important to be wise in the small stuff too. Our friends have a major effect on the way we see situations and other people, how we feel about school or activities, and even how we respond to God. There’s nothing wrong with taking time to consider and pray about whether a friendship that once seemed like a good fit no longer is. While some friends may last a season and others a lifetime, if we rely on God to direct our steps, we can be at peace with the friendship decisions we make.

Things to Think About

• What do you think it means to be wise in our friendships? Why is it so important to be careful in friendship in the same way we’re thoughtful about other areas of life?
• Have you ever drifted from a friendship because it was no longer a good fit or because you had different paths? What new friends has God brought into your life?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Write out a list of your five closest friends. Then, write out three traits that characterize each of them. Consider whether these characteristics are positive or negative.