What are you doing to your friends?

Edward Rowell shared a story about a woman interviewed by reporters on her 102nd birthday. When asked about the benefits of living past the century mark, she answered, “No peer pressure!”

Peer pressure can, at various times and in certain situations, be positive but often it’s a negative, grinding experience.

Some “friends” just don’t have our best interests in mind and even put us in awkward situations. Kind of like a young man in Bible college who fell asleep during class. As he was sleeping, a friend of his suddenly shook him and earnestly whispered, “Hey, he just asked you to pray!” The sleeping man, thinking he had just been called on to pray, jumped to his feet and began his prayer while still partly asleep, interrupting the teacher’s lesson. The student finished his prayer and sat down. The teacher, unflustered, thanked the student and continued with the lesson.

What are you doing to your friends?!

Okay, that last story may be the outcome of a “harmless” prank, but not taking the best interests of your friends to heart can result in you being a negative grind in their life. An example comes from Elesha Hodge, who shared a report from the April 29, 1992 issue of the Chicago Tribune:

“A stripped gear in the propeller controls of a commuter plane caused it to nosedive into the Georgia woods last April, killing former U.S. Senator John Tower of Texas and twenty-two others, the government concluded Tuesday. A gear that adjusted the pitch of the left engine’s propellers was slowly worn away by an opposing part with a harder titanium coating, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

“It acted like a file, and over time it wore down the teeth that controlled the propeller,” said acting board chairman Susan Coughlin.

Hodge concluded from the story, “Just as the titanium gear wore away the gear that it was closest too, one harsh spouse or friend can wear down the spirit of the other.”

What are you doing to your friends?!

What should be the effect of having YOU as a friend?

The Bible has much to say about friendship, but here’s one insight that’s popular in Christian circles:

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend,” Proverbs 27:17.

A friend should contribute to making you a better person than you are, they should contribute to your positive development.

Is that what you’re doing to your friends?

Scotty