Last week I mentioned that my husband and I had several topics we wanted to discuss with our girls in the coming days. We began by talking about the importance of friends.
Here are some basics that we've covered.
Bible Verses about Friends:
·
Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men
shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
·
Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must
shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a
brother.”
·
Proverbs 27:5,6 “Open rebuke is better than
secret love. Faithful are the wounds of
a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
·
Proverbs 22:24-25, “Make no friendship with an
angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways,
and get a snare to thy soul.”
·
Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loveth at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity."
·
Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man
sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
·
Proverbs 19:6, “Many will intreat the favour of
the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.”
List some characteristics of a good friend.
Quote on friendship: “Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.” ~George Washington
What other important principles about friendship would you add?
I'm interested in how your girls responded to this. The verses and examples are great - I wouldn't have thought of a few of them.
ReplyDeleteAurie,
DeleteOur girls listened and responded well. Having attended church all of their lives and Christian school for several years, most of what we talked about is already in their heads - I guess we're just trying to make sure it's in their hearts as well.
As I mentioned in my post last week, they are beginning to attend birthday parties, go to friends' homes, and be in other situations where we as their parents are not constantly around. Though we would not knowingly put them in a situation where they would be tempted in some way, there will come a time when they have to make a decision about doing right or wrong on their own. We are trying to train them ahead of time to be wise in areas - like choosing friends - that could possibly cause difficulty.
Thanks for your faithfulness in reading and commenting; you're always an encouragement!
Hope your week is going well!
What a great list of principles and Scriptures to teach your daughters! I think so many children out there don't receive any such training on how to be a friend or how to choose them! I love that God's Word is filled with wisdom on this ~ great job for being so intentional on this.
ReplyDeleteYour list covers so much ~ this is great! One thing that popped into mind (probably because I've been working on John 15 still!) as I read your post is to prepare them for persecution from other *friends*, both now and later in life, and how to biblically respond to certain situations they may encounter. My children are dealing with a touch of this right now as we moved into a new neighborhood, and they have already been teased a bit. Jesus mentioned to us that He calls us His friends when we follow Him, and that the world *will* persecute us as it persecuted Him first. I've forgotten this pretty easily over my time as a Christian. I think a little preparation for such times might be helpful, as it can hurt when people that we think are/should be friends mistreat us because we stand up for God's truth. It's heartbreaking to watch my own children shed tears because they were doing this, but I know their reward is in heaven!
Great and timely post, Tracey!
Katie,
DeleteYou are so right - we definitely need to let them know that they will be persecuted in some arenas if they follow what is right. Somehow we're going to tie the friendship portion of our discussion in with talking about having the courage to stand alone.
Isn't God good to use the Scripture passages we're studying or memorizing to prompt thoughts and ideas that we can use in our own lives and in helping our children and others?!
I'm catching up on my blog reading. I'm a little behind. But this is a great idea!
ReplyDelete