This is a brief message given at an inner-city mission in downtown Toronto, to a mixed group.
What is one thing you look for in a new friend? One quality? Honesty, gentleness, kindness, humor?
What is one thing you try to be when you are in a friendship? Open, honest, kind, trustworthy?
Yes, we look for these things in potential new friends, and hopefully we try to be these things for potential new friends because we want - what kind of friendships? We want good friendships. Good relationships.
The Bible suggests that good friends, good company enhances our character. It does so in the negative though by saying “Bad company corrupts good character.” That’s in 1 Corinthians 15:33
so we want good friendships, in part because we understand that friendships with people who are “bad company“ do not help us. In fact they harm us.
What’s an example of friendship with someone who is “bad company“?
Someone who is very negative.
Someone who is deep in their addictions
Someone who has shown themselves to be untrustworthy.
Since Bridges is a place of positive change and transformation, you probably hear us saying that it’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you, people who support your goals, and people who even help you along the way to positive goals.
The other side of that, is that we will say that sometimes it is important to separate yourself from people who are not in your corner, who do not demonstrate that they truly believe in you, that they do not support you in the positive changes you are seeking to make.
So relationships are key. Without relationships with others, we are our only company.
And, from talking to a very large number of people, and from knowing my own mind on this matter, it became clear to me that individuals are terrible company to themselves.
When you’re by yourself, living in your own head, trying to sort through the struggles and suffering in life all by yourself, it is impossible to come out with a positive result.
We need other people. We need other friends. Most important, I would say, is that we need to Be good friends to others. So that means we need to work on ourselves so that we are always trustworthy, positive, kind and good.
Then, we need to make sure that we fill our lives with positive people, who are really on the same journey toward transformation as we are. There we will give and receive encouragement, support and love.
God wants only the best for us.
He’s given the best in Jesus who has made a way for us into a relationship with God through His blood shed on the cross, and because of this love we can know that He is with us and on our side.
