Parenting by the Book
STUDY 200
Text: Proverbs 18
24 April 2005
Dear Parents,
FRIENDSHIP
Children need to have a strong family background to help them grow up well. Children also need to have friends. Parents cannot provide all the friendship children need to have as they grow up. They need friends who are their contemporaries. They have to cultivate good social skills that will help them make and keep good friends!
POINTERS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS
Let us take time to ponder over this text that teaches us how to look at the concept of friendship.
A man who has friends must himself be friendly.
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.Proverbs 18:24
1. Opportunities to make friends abound
Anyone can make friends. A man may have many friends in life. It is quite normal to have a good and growing number of friends in life!
2. Keeping Friends
Making friends is one thing. Keeping friends is something else! How does a person keep his friends? The answer given is quite straightforward! He “must himself be friendly”. Two aspects of friendship must be considered:-
a) The receiving of friendship
Friendship is a two-way relationship! A person may offer his friendship. It must first be received with sincere appreciation!
b) The giving of friendship
There must be a giving of friendship! One cannot merely receive. One must also plan to give friendship! Only when there is a give-and-take relationship would there be the ability to keep that friendship!
A SPECIAL FRIEND
Sometimes a person is especially blessed with a rare and special friend. Two things stand out in this wonderful friendship:-
1. The rare friend sticks to you loyally through thick and thin
2. The rare friend is even better than a flesh-and-blood sibling!
Let’s teach our children how to make and keep friends!
Prayerfully,
Pastor Charlie