Surrounding Ourselves with the Right People

Proverbs 17:17 ESV

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

The NLT version says it like this, “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”

We grow up in life influenced by our family (good or bad) for the first few years of our lives. We then begin to have outside influences, people that will help shape us. We begin to gather friends, and we begin to take on their traits and their characteristics. Still, with the influence of the family interjecting into our lives all along.

We hope to find loyal friends, friends that will sow positivity into our lives, hopefully friends with good morals and standards.

If we were born with siblings, we hope to have siblings that are loyal, trustworthy, and siblings that will have our back. This is how the family should be shaped, with closeness and love. Unfortunately it’s not the case in every family.

Solomon is setting a standard in this passage; a (good) friend loves at all times, and a brother (or sister) is born to help us through tough times, they are born to be a help and strength. That is not the case in every family, and it wasn’t the case in Solomon’s family. None-the-less, that is the best-case scenario.

It has been said that if we are the smartest person in our group of friends, our group is too small. We need friends that will challenge us and help us grow. Friends should good advice and be there when we need them, not just us being the advice and counselor of the group.

If our siblings, if we have them, if they are not being a source of strength and encouragement to us, then at least be that to them. Don’t be petty and act as badly as they do. Be who we are supposed to be to our family and friends.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to be the best friend possible and the best sibling possible to my siblings. In Your name Lord Jesus I ask, Amen!