Friends play a very important role in our lives. Next to family we are indebted to our friends. For most of us, friends influence the decisions we take in our day-to-day affairs. Friends influence the kind of school we attend, and the courses we do. Friends influence the work we do. They influence who we relate with. They even influence who we end up getting married to. Some people have become so dependent on friends that their success or failure in life depends on it,
It is as a result of this huge influence on our lives that it is very important to know the kind of friend you make. Your destiny remains in their hands. For instance, if friends influence you to marry the wrong person you are doomed. You will be bonded together with the wrong person for life.
This morning we shall be examining two characters in the Bible who had friends who changed their lives.
David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18)
Jonathan was the son of King Saul, ruler of Israel. As eldest son of his father, Jonathan was heir apparent to the throne. When David was brought into the palace to play music for King Saul, he and Jonathan became the best of friends. At a point in their lives when King Saul wanted to kill David it was his friend Jonathan who saved him. He kept giving him tips to enable him escape his father’s treachery. The friendship between David and Jonathan was not any ordinary friendship. They were bound by a covenant. Even though Jonathan knew that supporting David will mean he will have to forfeit his own claim to the throne, he did not mind. He accepted the fact that God had ordained David to be King after his father King Saul. Jonathan stood by David to the end. In return David also remembered the descendants of his friend when he became King.
Amnon and Jonadab (2 Samuel 13)
Amnon was King David’s eldest son, and was on course to be the successor to his father. He had a beautiful half sister called Tamar, whom he had fallen in love with. He so loved his sister that it began to affect him psychologically and physically. One day his friend (who was actually his cousin because he was the son of David’s brother) asked him why he was growing lean by the day. Amnon then confided in his friend that he was in love with his sister but could not approach her. Jonadab then gives his friend a plan. So Amnon pretended to be sick, and when his father King David came to visit him, he requested him to send his half sister to come and cook for him. When Tamar came, he demanded that she cooked the food in his bedroom. After sending everyone away from the house, Amnon raped his sister. This act, led to his eventual murder two years later at the hands of his half brother Absalom, Tamar’s brother. With it, he also lost the throne!
These are two scenarios that reflect the kind of friends we have. One’s friend helped protect him, and pushed him to his throne. Another’s friend gave advice that made him lose his throne and got him killed. Your friend can either help you on your throne or help to dethrone you.
How do you know if your friend is good or bad?
Does your friend share your vision?
Does your friend get you closer to God?
What is your prepared to sacrifice for you?
How does your friend react to your victory?
Does this friend rebuke you when you know you have done wrong?
As you go through this day and this week, ponder over these questions, and review the people in your life you call friends. Remember, that person can either help you to your throne, or take you away from your throne.
Source: Richard Kojo Ellimah.
