If you are a Christian, the Bible should be your guideline for every area of your life. This includes the areas of work, play, love, friendship, etc! When reading in 1 Peter 4 the other day, I jotted down a few notes about how I should be a Biblical friend, and I want to share these things with you.
8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:8-11
Fervent Charity
In verse 8 we are commanded to have fervent charity. In today’s language, this means “love without ceasing”. When is the last time you “wrote off” one of your friends or fellow Church members because they hurt your feelings, or did something you didn’t like? We will inevitably hurt one another in this life. It is part of living with this fleshly body. We aren’t always going to say and do the right things. Not one of us is perfect, and we don’t always agree. But we must be so careful about how we love one another. Now, sometimes loving one another may mean we keep our distance and pray for one another. Perhaps someone isn’t living right, and you don’t want to be dragged down a path that will be bad for you. This is where the second part of verse 8 comes into play…
Covering Sins
This world will tell you love is a feeling. My friend, it is so much more. Love is patience, it is kindness. It is praying for a friend when they have made a mistake. Love is praying God intervenes in a bad situation, and rejoicing with your friend when they receive a blessing. Love also covers a multitude of sins. This means it hides/obscures wrong-doing. Let’s say your friend is venturing into the slippery territory of sinfulness. Maybe you have even tried talking to them to encourage correction. It’s time to love them from a little bit of a distance and pray for them. Encourage them to be faithful. Let them know you are praying for them, and you love them. More than that, remind them God loves them! Then let God work out the situation. When you focus on loving and praying for the person, instead of focusing on their sin, what they’re doing becomes not so important to you, as much as seeing them back in the will of God. Love and prayer for them will obscure their wrongdoing, and help you focus on God, and what he wants you to do in the situation. (Make sense?)
Without Grudging
Verse 9 instructs friends to exercise hospitality toward one another (hang out with one another, invite one another over) without grudging. That word means murmuring, grumbling, or being displeased about things. When I first read this I thought it meant to invite your friends over without feeling like it was an obligation that you didn’t really want to do. (We’ve all hosted those get-togethers that required a lot of work, and we weren’t really super excited about hosting.) But after pondering this verse, what if it means we are to get together and fellowship with one another without murmuring and grumbling about other people, and things going on in the Church, and situations at work, and all the complaints of life? Perhaps we should keep the atmosphere in our homes and in our fellowship pleasant, sweet, and focused on the good things in life.
Minister to Others
The bottom line (as stated in verse 10) is that we have all been blessed of God. We have received gifts we are to use to exhort, teach, encourage, and bless others with. As God has loved and showed favor to us, we should do so to others. Everything we do should be done in a way that we could give God the glory for it. In fact, the next verse says just that. That God in all things may be glorified. Are you a God-glorifying friend? Do you just go with the flow of your friendships? Or do others feel lifted up and encouraged after hanging out with you? Do your friends know you pray for them, and do they come to you for prayer in times of need?
