THE WISDOM OF HOW TO MANAGE FRIENDSHIP

By William Tan

Dear brothers and sisters, is life on planet earth an easy journey?

Some friends asked me, “William, how do you manage to maintain a variety of friends?” Why do l have a variety of friends who are so different in character? How do I manage to get along  with them all? 

I’ve been thinking about how to answer these questions, so here is my attempt. 

Firstly, l am not an angel. And I don’t have one straight answer. I think that I respond to each friend differently. With one, l am polite. With another, l joke and can be a bit naughty. With another, I can sit down and talk about serious matters. With others on my same wavelength, we laugh a lot.

I listen to one friend’s problems; l also listen to another one’s advice. For me, my friends are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When completed, they form a treasure trove of friends.

They are my friends who understand me better than l understand myself. They’re friends who support me through good days and bad.

Doctors tell us that friends are good for our health. Dr. Oz calls them vitamin ‘F’ (for friends) and counts the benefits of friends as essential to our well-being.

Research shows that people in strong social circles have less risk of depression and terminal stroke.

If you have a steady dose of vitamin F, you can be up to 30 years younger than your real age.

Friends are very important to me. What about you?

But most importantly, if you have Jesus as your Friend and are guiding you daily, then your life is a guided tour. The Holy Spirit will not allow evil to overcome you.

In Psalms 18:2-3,

1) The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him l am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe.

2) l call to the Lord, and he saves me from my enemies.

May God bless the reading of His word.

Amen.


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