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- Apr 25, 2006
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Friend or fake? (3)
'A man who has friends must himself be friendly ...' Proverbs 18:24
No matter how good a friend you are, even if you master trust and value completely, not every friendship you have will last forever. The other person may have issues (reasonable or not), or maybe for purely practical reasons (like they're moving to the North Pole, and won't be contactable other than by carrier-penguin), you'll eventually lose some friends.
When the relationship is over, you'll go one way and they'll go another - and you can choose whether you deal with that in a positive or negative way. If a friendship does go bad for whatever reason, one good thing to do is take some responsibility for it.
Make the first move in saying sorry, and trying to sort it out. That'll set a great example to them, result in less bitterness, and also show your other friends that you can be mature when things go wrong. It means you're more likely to be remembered as a good friend too, and the happy memories and fun times will go away with the friend.
Another top tip, is to ask your friends (and you have to be brave to do this one!) how they think you could be a better friend - it's always good to have goals, and to want to grow. Be willing to listen to what they say, and act on it, so you can be a valued and trusted friend who people won't want to lose.
written by Bob Gass
'A man who has friends must himself be friendly ...' Proverbs 18:24
No matter how good a friend you are, even if you master trust and value completely, not every friendship you have will last forever. The other person may have issues (reasonable or not), or maybe for purely practical reasons (like they're moving to the North Pole, and won't be contactable other than by carrier-penguin), you'll eventually lose some friends.
When the relationship is over, you'll go one way and they'll go another - and you can choose whether you deal with that in a positive or negative way. If a friendship does go bad for whatever reason, one good thing to do is take some responsibility for it.
Make the first move in saying sorry, and trying to sort it out. That'll set a great example to them, result in less bitterness, and also show your other friends that you can be mature when things go wrong. It means you're more likely to be remembered as a good friend too, and the happy memories and fun times will go away with the friend.
Another top tip, is to ask your friends (and you have to be brave to do this one!) how they think you could be a better friend - it's always good to have goals, and to want to grow. Be willing to listen to what they say, and act on it, so you can be a valued and trusted friend who people won't want to lose.
written by Bob Gass
