Read Proverbs 27:17

Read Proverbs 27:17  It is wonderful to have a good friend.  But to have a great friend also means that we have a great responsibility.  When we have a good friend, our responsibility is to be a good friend.  We need to be reminded that friendship has two sides: having a friend and being a friend.  When we need something, we can call upon our friend.  But when our friend needs something, can he count on us?  When we do something dumb, isn't it great that our friend is forgiving and doesn't stay mad at us just because we have done something dumb?  But how about when our friend does something dumb?  Are we forgiving to him?  What if he does something dumb but he doesn't realize that he did something dumb?  That is a little harder.  Our verse says that iron sharpens iron.  To sharpen a steel knife, we have to take something harder than the steel in order to sharpen it.  So it is with our friendships.  We should always be willing to do more for our friend that we expect him to do for us.  When our friend does something dumb, we have to man up and tell him that he is not right.  We tell him, not because we want to be mean, but because we care about him and we don't want him to continue to do dumb things.  We want our friends to be honest with us, and we need to be honest with our friends.  We should care about them and they should care about us.  That is like the iron sharpening iron in our verse.  It is great to have a good friend.  It is just as great to be a good friend and to be truthful when we need to be.