A Guide to Building Biblical Friendships

“Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.” So wrote the Roman philosopher Cicero in the first century B.C. But while all people long for friendship, genuine friends are hard to come by. Many factors contribute to the dearth of friendship. The increasing mobility of our culture has made lifelong friends a rare commodity. Even when we stay in one place for a long time, the rapid pace of life makes it difficult to carve out time for building and sustaining friendship. Social media may help us connect with old classmates and distant relatives, but it also poses an electronic barrier to the kinds of practices most necessary to deep friendship. If we have ever needed wisdom regarding friendship, it is now. The book of Proverbs provides such wisdom and provides us with at least eight biblical principles for friendship.

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