What Does The Bible Say About Money
The bible says many things about money, but the heart of the matter is this: money can become something that rules our livesâan idol ofsorts. God’s desire is for us to have life to the full andHe knows that worshiping money will keep us from that.
From the seduction of success to the lure of lust, many things in this world will vie for your affection and devotion. But the most significant idol you will face is money .
Withholding Kindness From A Friend
Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
Most of the Book of Job is dialogue. Job’s friends try to help him understand the tragedies that have befallen him. At one point, Job’s friend Eliphaz suggests that Job is suffering because of his own foolishness.
Here Job tells Eliphaz that he’s the one acting foolish. Because if you’re withholding things like kindness, comfort, and compassion from your friends, you don’t fear God.
Bible Verses About Choosing Friends
God uses friendship as an instrument of sanctification. It is important that all Christians carefully choose their friends. In the past I used to have trouble choosing friends and Ill tell you from experience friends can either bring you up in life or bring you down.
Wise Christian friends will build you up, help you, and bring wisdom. A bad friend will lead you to sin, encourage ungodly traits, and would rather see you fall than do good in life.
Being a loving and forgiving Christian doesnt mean that you are to hang around with bad friends who bring peer pressure in your life.
Sometimes you have to know when friendship with another person is leading you away from the Lord. In this case, you must choose Christ or that friend. The answer is always going to be Christ.
Just like a good parent tries to remove negative influences from their childs life, God will remove bad influences from our life and replace them with godly friends.
Ask God for wisdom when choosing friends in your life and remember bad company ruins good morals so choose your friends wisely.
Quotes
- Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone then in bad company. Booker T. Washington
- You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully.
- You dont need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of.
- Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.
What does the Bible say?
Reminder
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Bible Verses About Friendship
Who doesn’t want to build good relationships? We all do, but knowing where to begin can be a bit tricky, here are fifteen Bible verses that highlights a true friendship and fifteen qualities of a good friend.
1. Proverbs 17:17 “My word is this: A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
- A true friend is someone who will love you at all times.
Love is a language of the heart, it excites, encourages, and makes friendships meaningful and fun. Yet loving friendships are rare gems. These priceless treasures are the desire of many but the reality of few. Friendships without love are like ships without sails and tunnels without light at the end.
Love is the glue that holds strong friendships together, even in hard and uncertain times, but not all friends are loving. Some friends only stick around when things are going well for you. They will say the right words at the right time and they will exhibit the qualities of a loving friend, but as soon as you come upon hard times and you can’t meet their demands and expectations, their love becomes a distant memory.
This Bible passage implies that love is a trait of a good friend, and a good friend will love you at all times and in any situationgood or bad. Good friends don’t look for opportunities to excuse themselves from expressing their love to you, but rather look for opportunities to further express their love to you.
- A good friend is someone who exercises self-control.
- Good friends exercise wisdom.
Godly Friends Keeps Us Accountable For Our Actions
This one is huge for me sweet friend. Why? More often than not we can become so blinded by our own sin that we cant see our own sin. Maybe we do see it, but rather we choose to ignore it altogether right?
True friends will tell us when were veering off our God-given path. Dont get me wrong they will do this in a nonjudgemental way.
I couldnt be more thankful for my lifegroup friends. I know without a shadow of a doubt all of them will speak the truth to me when I mess up. Not only this, but they will also hold me accountable. I NEED THIS!
My husband and I host and lead Lifegroup in our home and we have what called accountability time. We separate the men from the women and bare our souls to one another. Believe it or not, this is a necessary and powerful thing!
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Bible Verses About Being A Friend
A man of too many friends comes to ruin,But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
A friend loves at all times,And a brother is born for adversity.
The righteous is a guide to his neighbor,But the way of the wicked leads them astray.
He who walks with wise men will be wise,But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Do not associate with a man given to anger Or go with a hot-tempered man,Or you will learn his waysAnd find a snare for yourself.
This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.You are My friends if you do what I command you.read more.No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his fathers house.Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
A perverse man spreads strife,And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
He who conceals a transgression seeks love,But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,But who can find a trustworthy man?
What Does The Bible Say About Making Love
Making love in marriage is important.
While some people use the terms love making and making love synonymously, they have different meanings. Married couples can do both, but there is a deeper level of intimacy to love-making. Deep love making will assist couples in having a healthy and fulfilling marriage.
When it comes to love making in the Bible, it is often spoken of in the context of marriage. There are some Christians that feel that the only reason for love making in marriage is for reproduction and there are others that believe that there are higher reasons for love making. This includes the ultimate joining together of a married man and woman joining their two spirits, joining their two minds, and joining their two bodies. How do Christian couples practice love-making and exemplify true love? They can turn to the Bible for answers.
Rather than prohibit love making, the Bible shows that it is a gift from God that should be gratifying for both partners. The act of love making is symbolic of physical love in marriage. This is beautiful to God. Ephesians 5:31-32 says, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. The relationship between a man and a woman in a loving marriage is sacred and exemplifies Gods love.
Lesli White
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What Does The Bible Say About Friendship And True Friends
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25
A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Faithful are the wounds of a friend profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 27:6
Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. Proverbs 27:9
Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. Proverbs 22:24-25
Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals. 1 Corinthians 15:33
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. Ecclesiastes 4:9
For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Ecclesiastes 4:10
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Ecclesiastes 4:11
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him, a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
Bible Verses About Family And Friends
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,I will now say, May peace be within you.
A friend loves at all times,And a brother is born for adversity.
For even your brothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously with you,Even they have cried aloud after you.Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.
A man of too many friends comes to ruin,But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
I have become estranged from my brothersAnd an alien to my mothers sons.
But it is you, a man my equal,My companion and my familiar friend
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,Who ate my bread,
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague And my kinsmen stand afar off.
Do not forsake your own friend or your fathers friend,And do not go to your brothers house in the day of your calamity Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.
When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: Do not be afraid of them remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.
The righteous is a guide to his neighbor,But the way of the wicked leads them astray.
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Good Friends: Examples In The Bible
It’s hard to live a satisfying life without good friends having them brings so much joy to our lives, so here are nine examples of good friends in the bible.
1. David and Hiram
“King Hiram of Tyre had always been friends with Solomon’s father David. When Hiram learned that Solomon was king, he sent some of his officials to meet with Solomon.”-1 Kings 5:1
“Hiram was so happy when he heard Solomon’s request that he said, ‘I am grateful that the LORD gave David such a wise son to be king of that great nation!”-1 Kings 5:7
2. David and Ittai
“Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.’ But Ittai answered the king, ‘As the Lord lives, and as my lord, the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether, for death or life, there also will your servant be.”-2 Samuel 15:19-21
3. Jesus Christ and his disciples
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”- John 15:13-15
In Humility Value Others Above Yourself
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Paul appeals to Jesus’s example to demonstrate how we should treat one another. He goes on to tell us how Jesus set aside His divinity and became a servant on our behalf. And He encourages us to have that same mindset with one another.
We should make the daily choice to live as a servant to those close to usto set aside our rights and expectations. This is the challenge of modeling ourselves on the example we see in Jesus.
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Bible Stories About Friendship
These Bible passages about friendship give us practical examples of how we can be loyal to others, even when friendships go through challenges. They teach us about the values of a good friend: faithfulness, respect and sacrifice.
Jonathan and David
1 Samuel 18:1-3 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
David and Jonathan had a sacrificial friendship. They were friends even though their situation made them rivals for the crown – Jonathan being the eldest son of King Saul and David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. Jonathan was incredibly loyal towards David, warning him of King Sauls intent to kill him.
Ruth and Naomi
Following a severe famine, Elimelech and his wife Naomi took their two sons to live in the country of Moab. Tragically Elimelech died, followed years later by Naomis two sons who by that point had married two women called Naomi and Orpha.
Instead of returning to her home, Ruth insisted on accompanying Naomi to Israel.
Ruth stuck by her mother-in-law during an extremely challenging time. Despite being from different cultures, places and generations, Naomi and Ruth established a deep bond. Their commitment to each other is a great example of Christ-like sacrifice. Ruth ended up marrying one of Naomis relatives, Boaz.
As Iron Sharpens Iron
This next verse is extremely fascinating as it tells us that two friends can help sharpen each other up as iron sharpens iron.
A true God-friend can help keep you sharp in the Spirit, let you know when you are getting too far off track, help you get through and make sense of some of the downswings that can occur in your walk, confirm and help bear witness when you are on the right track, give you pep talks when needed, and help keep you in the game when you start to get too mad and frustrated when things do not go your way.
You each serve to help keep each other up in the Lord so that you both can continue to stay on the straight and narrow road that God now has you set up on. You can also help each other out if one starts to be tempted to do something they should not be engaging in. Here is the verse:
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
A true God-friend will always be honest and straight forward with you. You cannot help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord unless you are both willing to be totally honest with one another.
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How To Pick Your Friends
Proverbs 12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 14:6-7A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
Proverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
1 Corinthians 15:33Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.
Gossip Separates Close Friends
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
It’s kind of surprising how often gossip comes up in Scripture. But when you think about how dangerous it is, it makes sense. Gossip destroys reputationsand relationships.
There’s something wrong with a person who enjoys stirring up conflict. Sharing secret knowledge feels powerful. But in the end, it erodes trust. We need to be careful not to associate with people who take pleasure in talking about others’ mistakes and foibles. Avoid them. If they gossip with you, they gossip about you.
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