How to Tell a Friend

Six little mice sat down to spin.
Kitty passed by, and she peeped in.

"What are you doing, my little men?"

We're making coats for gentlemen."




"May I come in and cut off the threads?"

"No, no, Miss Kitty! You'd bite off our heads!"




"Oh no, I won't. I'll help you spin."

"That may be so, but you can't come in!"



-- from Mother Goose

That was my public speaking debut when I was age four! The occasion was the last-day-of-school program and picnic, held at the one-room rural schoolhouse which I later attended, from the first grade through the eighth.

Those were very smart little mice. They knew that not everyone who passes by is your friend. So how do you know who really is?

Here are just a few of the ways that you can tell a friend.

* A friend gives himself/herself. "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13 NLT) There are many ways other than dying that friends lay down their lives—in time, resources, energy. The famous friendship in the Bible illustrates this. Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

* A friend tells the truth. "An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship." (Proverbs 24:26 NLT)

* A friend is faithful. "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need . . . There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24 NLT) "If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble . . A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:10, 12 MSG)

* A friend is trustworthy. "Reliable friends who do what they say are like cool drinks in sweltering heat—refreshing!" (Proverbs 25:13 MSG)

* A friend gives good (if any) advice. "Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket . . . The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. (Proverbs 25:11; 27:9 NLT)

About Miss Kitty as a friend? No, I don't think so. Not everyone who wants to befriend you is going to be worthy of being called a friend. Friends don't use you for their own agenda. Friends don't lie. They don't desert you when things are tough. Friends are reliable. They don't pretend to have the answers all the time, but they're willing to share any wisdom they have.

"A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." (Proverbs 12:26 NKJV) It pays to be cautious.

Like the six little mice.

MaryMartha

A related story: You Knew I Was a Snake [here]

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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