10 ways to kill a godly friendship

If you are serious about keeping your Christ-like friendships till deaths do them apart you will need and enjoy the ten tips below.  So here they are:

1)      Leave God’s principals out of the friendship. This is I believe is the quickest way to destroy a true godly friendship. The day you decide to remove god’s principals from your friendship you are heading for disaster. Always make sure that God remains at the center of your friendship and allow His unshakable principals to guide your friendships (if you want to keep them that is). Remember to walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

2)      Do all the taking and never give. Nobody wants a friend who just takes and takes but never gives. Soon or later the friend who is doing all the giving or a lot of it is going to give up and find another friend who understands the principal “it’s better to give that to receive.” It’s good to take but make sure you give just as equally to balance your friendship.

3)      Don’t return calls, texts or emails. This can be very painful and distressing for the friend being ignored. She will feel rejected and after about ten missed calls, a couple of texts and emails is going to be forced to leave you alone. When you don’t communicate back you are sending the message “I have better things to do” or “you are bothering me.” When communication stops in any relationship so does the relationship. If you are too busy to talk on the phone just drop her a text letting her know that you will get back to her as soon as you can. If you decide you don’t want to be her friend anymore, the least you can do is be honest. Don’t think she should guess that you don’t need or want her anymore. Let her know the truth. She will be hurt of course but she will get over it and you will both be free. Make sure your reasons are godly for leaving the friendship though because you reap what you sow.

4)      Become jealousy. This is the one I struggle to understand. Why would you be jealous of your friend? Celebrate her and know that God is not a respecter of a person. What He has done for your friend He can do also for you providing you keep the right attitude and hold your peace. God has enough goodness to go around so there is no need to get a bad attitude and tear your friend down.

5)      Become selfish. Don’t let everything be about you. I know we love to talk about ourselves but we also need to ask questions concerning our friend and really listen. Have you ever involved yourself in a conversation where your friend just talked about her, herself and her and didn’t even bother to ask you the question, “what about you, how are things with you?” It’s not nice so let’s be self-less.

6)      Become prideful. If you are wrong just explain. Don’t try to act as if you have done nothing wrong when in fact you have. Also never come to a point where you start thinking you are better than your friend. Seriously, no one wants to be friends with someone who thinks they are better than them. Its bad enough when our boss does it but when a friend acts so it hurts the most. We are all equal in Christ and we are loved alike. Whatever happened to humility?

7)       Become negative. Negativity drains a person. Try to be more positive than negative when you are with your friend. Stop reminding her of how much weight she has gained over the last six months or so. Be a people builder not destroyer.

8)      Don’t tell the truth. It’s better to tell her the truth than to lie. Don’t pretend that you think she is making a good business decision when you really think she is missing it. Advice her. She will respect you more in the future.

9)      Disagree with everything she says. You don’t have to agree with everything but you also don’t have to disagree with everything. She will think you are an enemy rather than a friend. If what she says is not a big deal then just let it go. It’s better to win your friend than to win an argument of people who don’t even know you and things that have less value than your friendship.

10)  Become boring. This sounds unimportant but it is very important. How would you like a friend who never does anything? All she wants to do is sit around her house watching TV (alone). Why not find interesting things that you both enjoy that will help you to grow spiritually as well as keep your friendship fresh and alive?