Friends: How Do You Treat Yours? By Kimberly M.

Friends: How Do You Treat Yours?

By Kimberly M.

How do you treat your friends? Like they're the special person God made them? Or do you take them for granted, and treat them wrong?

Chances are, if you treat your friends well, then you probably have a lot of them! And teens should always have friends. Who else would you be able to talk with at Youth Group? Who else would you like to go to the beach with you during the summer? Who else would you stay on the phone with until your mom tells you it's time to get off?

Let's take a look at some things. Read the list below, and see which ones pertain to you.

1) No matter what, I'm always honest with my friend. No matter what I think she'll think of me if I tell her the truth, I tell her.

2) If I disagree with a friend, I don't get all heated up about the subject. I simply explain my point of view, and stay calm when she shares hers.

3) I let my friend know that I like being friends with her. Maybe once in a while I send her a note or call her up on the phone just to see how she's doing. I let her know that I care about her.

4) If my friend has something to say, I listen to her. No matter what exciting thing I have to say, I don't interrupt.

5) If someone is being rude or being mean to my friend, I stand up for her. I don't let others treat her badly.

6) I never talk about my friend behind her back, or gossip about her. If I want to share something about her with someone else, I ask her first to see if it's okay with her.

7) I share my feelings with my friend. If she asks what's wrong, I don't just keep what I'm thinking all bottled up inside for fear that she'll think badly of me.

8) I never break a promise with my friends. If I say I'm going to do something, I try my best to stick to it.

9) I never think I'm better than my friend. I know that God made us equal.

How did you do? Did you answer yes to most of the questions? Did you say no to a lot and felt bad about it? Or did you say no to a lot and don't really care?

Let's take a look at what God has to say.

Proverbs 17:17a A friend loveth at all times.

Proverbs 27:10a Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not;

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Are you being kind towards your friends? Forgiving? Just think about it. If you're not, don't you think now is the time to start? You've heard it before:

If you want friends, you have to be a friend.