Your friends are not gods. Those were the first words I heard when I woke up one morning. I didn’t think so much of it, until the Holy Spirit began to point me in the right direction.
If you’ve been here for some time, you’d have read the article I wrote about having friends you’re intentional about. My friends know I love them, and I’m very intentional about them.
However, there came a time I began to overdo it. Do you ever say to yourself how you may not be able to live without your friends? This was the case for me. As in a lot of our lives, friends play an important role. The problem here was not my friends but the manner in which I elevated them.
In the 10 commandments in Exodus 20:3, the first says to not have any god but God. Matthew 22:37 highlights Jesus saying the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind.
The Holy Spirit began pointing to me, how I can live without my friends but not God. If my friends were to remain, I’d need to love them as myself as stated in Matthew 22:39.
As with all of our relationships, we must exercise balance. Friends will come and go, but God will remain. If you ever hold on too tight to your friends, instead of God, He will take them from you.
Why you ask? Vs. 5 of Exodus 20 points to God telling the Israelites to not make gods for themselves, as He is a jealous God. On that note, anything that tries to take God’s place in your life, will bow to God.
May God help you and I to be balanced individuals, who know the place of God and friends. May we never put our friends in place as gods.
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