Friendship 101

Back when I was a child, my Mom daily reminded us as children of the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” It was a warning for us as teenagers growing up that we should choose our friends wisely. Whenever we value the opinions of our friends more than other key people even our own family members … be forewarned …it’s disaster waiting to happen if our friends don’t have a good reputation.

If we hang out with friends who have nothing in life to lose, we will most definitely ruin our future. The company we keep reflects our personality. A smart person heeds a warning, but a foolish person goes on and is held responsible for their actions. If you hang with people that are unambitious, you will be perceived as being unambitious too yourself.

We are an image of our closest friends. A person will always look for friends who are like them. If you ever wonder what kind of person you are, look at your friends. We are known by the company we keep. It’s wisdom to slowly and carefully choose the people you associate yourself with until you know you have mutual values.

Our goal should be to choose friends who we are proud to know, people we admire, and those who will motivate and inspire us to do the right thing. Our friends can be the reason why we succeed or fail. It’s in our best interest that we choose our friends wisely. Bad company overpowers our good behaviour.

It’s better to be alone than in the wrong company. Tell me who your best friends, your ‘ride or die’, your ‘sisters by another father’, ‘brothers by another mother’ are, and I will tell you who you are. It’s difficult for someone to understand the value of having a good reputation if he or she spends time being uncreative and hanging with questionable characters.

Don’t say another word before you look in the mirror. Who or what you see in the mirror is a sure reflection of the circle of people you are spending the most time with. The Bible says, “Don’t be fooled, BAD friends will RUIN good habits.” I think it will be foolish to argue that warning unless you are willing to deal with the consequences of your decisions.

It’s important to socialize because loneliness is a killer … but use wisdom when choosing your friends. We are social beings by nature, and it would be unthinkable to not have people around you to talk with, to share your joys, sorrows, viewpoints, etc. but for your own wellbeing be selective.

Finally, if you have many friends, it may bring you chaos and confusion, but there are friends who sticks with you and cheers you on to achieve your goals. Whoever walks with the wise grows wise, but a friend of fools suffers many losses. May God grant to us wisdom in choosing who we associate ourselves with.