Are You A Friend or A Companion?

Proverbs 18:24
Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. MSG

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin but a friend sticks closer than a brother. NIV

The man of many friends (a friend of all the world) will prove himself a bad friend, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.AMP

I was watching an episode of Chloe and Lamar where Lamar’s friend, Jamie, was being kind of trifling. They had been friends since high school in Queens, played basketball together, and won a championship. They are more like brothers than friends. Jamie almost died of a colon disease but Lamar was right there for him giving him a job and keys to his house. Jamie started slacking on his responsibilities because of his friendship and eventually messed up a big business deal. Lamar relieved his friend of his duties. Jamie was devastated and didn’t answer his phone for three days. Lamar went to look for his friend and found him dirty, depressed, and drunk. He called his wife to tell her he was spending the night until Jamie sobered up so he could have a real talk with him. Chloe told Lamar, “You’re a good friend.” Lamar said, “You’re a better wife.”

Lamar showed me something about friendship. There is a difference between a companion and a friend. Whodini asked us a very important question back in the 80’s, “Friends, how many of us have them…the one’s we can depend on?" What we learn in our maturity is that some of the people we called friends were really just companions.

1. Companions are friends who come and go but real friends stick by you like family. Lamar kept saying that Jamie was his brother. He stuck by him even when he was at his lowest. He didn’t just let Jamie slide on being trifling and messing up the business deal but he didn’t kick while he was down either.

2. Companions are unreliable friends who if we continue to allow in our lives will cause us to come to ruin. Is it possible that Lamar was a friend to Jamie but Jamie was a companion to Lamar? If Jamie really values Lamar as a brother then he has to step up and be a brother not just a companion. A man who has friends must first show himself or herself reliable.

3. Companions try to be friends with everybody and never really established any real depth or transparency but everyone should have at least one friend who knows you like a brother. Sometimes, blood brothers are more like companions and friends more like relatives. You can’t choose your relatives but you can choose your friends. Choose wisely!

Dear God,

Help me to be a better friend to a select few. Increase the quality of my friendships. Give me discernment to know who to pour into and who to withdraw from. My success depends upon my lifeline connection to real friends. Help me to stay connected to real brothers and not unreliable companions.

In Jesus Name,

Amen