What Does the Bible Say About Friendships?Намуна

Hardship in Friendship

People were made for friendship. Godly friendship leads to godly obedience. But what do we do when friendship gets hard? Whether it’s a miscommunication, gossip, a friend ghosting you when you needed them to show up, or that friend who leaves you more exhausted than encouraged, friendships wrapped in drama can be defeating. It may even lead us to avoid friendship altogether for a season.

But sometimes, we are called to endure difficult friendships—to fight for unity—for the joy of the Lord.

Paul, a man God chosen to spread the good news of Jesus, wrote a letter to the Philippian church, urging people to fight for unity with one another. In the fourth chapter, he addressed two women in the church who had tension with one another. Whatever disagreement they had affected not only these two women but also the whole church. The conflict between Euodia and Syntyche caused a division that led to isolation and separation. Paul urged the church to shift their perspective from fighting against one another to fighting for friendship.

As followers of Jesus, we don’t fight against each other—we fight for each other because we have the joy of the Lord.

We all have different upbringings, backgrounds, and histories. That’s okay—it’s even a good thing! We were never created to be the same. We were created to be unified. We were created to be one team that works together for the glory of God.

Sometimes your fight for unity will be successful, and sometimes your friends won’t be interested. Fighting for friendship isn’t easy. In fact, it’s almost always hard. Fighting to reject false narratives about other people, remain level-headed, and let go of grudges is tough and grueling work. But the joy of the Lord will always be ours for the taking!

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Questions

• How do you typically respond when conflict arises in friendships?
• How does remembering that you belong to the Lord change how you respond to tension?
• In what friendship do you need God’s peace to guard your heart and mind?