The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself Is This

Prov. 27:5-6 - Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. NASU 

• The Best Gift For You 

The Christmas season is upon us and if you want to give yourself a great gift then give yourself the gift of a great friend. One thing we know for sure and that is life is tough and it will be a lot tougher if you don't have a great friend. 

• How Do You Know If You Have A Great Friend? 

Great friends will challenge your thinking process at times. This doesn't mean they are against you. It means they want what is best for you and sometimes your ideas need to be challenged. Sometimes we need to hear, "Have you thought this idea through?"
 
If we will be honest we have probably all had some dumb ideas and very glad we didn't take it to the next step because if we had failure was right around the corner.
 
A friend is one who looks you right in the eyes and challenges you or as verse 5 says, they will "openly rebuke" you. This Hebrew word for rebuke means to challenge, prove, or reason. They will challenge you, ask you to prove it, or ask you to reason with them on this? 

• Great Friends Will Do This 

This proverb then gives us an interesting analogy when it says a friend may wound you with his rebuke or challenge, but that is better then receiving a kiss from your enemy who wants you to try your endeavor and he hopes that you fail by trying.
 
Friends will challenge you and you may even feel like you have been knifed with their questions. One thing we can all use is a friend who tries to keep us from falling but if we do fall he is there to help pick us up.
 
Your friends won't always agree with every choice you make but they will remain your friend.   
 
Friends listen to what you say and will not always agree with everything you say. But they always are there when you need them to listen. Hopefully, in your life, you have at least one friend like this. 

• Great Friends Will Not Do This 

They will not simply say what you want to hear. A friend shares with you the truth. They are not "yes" people. In other words, they will not tell you "yes" to anything you ask.  

They will listen to what you are saying before they give you any feedback.

Most of us already know what I am saying is true, but still, we find ourselves being surrounded by the wrong type of people and listening to the wrong type of friend.
 
As Christmas gets closer give yourself the best gift possible, a Great Friend.
 
Think on These:
 
It is best to test new ideas on old friends.

If you were another person, Would you like to be a friend of yours?

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word