Dangerous "Well-Wishers"

When acquiring friends, I try to be sincere and genuine. Not everyone understands and perceives me the same way, not every friend of mine is in a hurry to open up and draw close to me. I respect the freedom of choice of my friends and do not impose myself on anyone, but at the same time I periodically remind them of myself and participate in the needs of others if I see that I can help.

Someone gets to know me better, and someone keeps me at a distance. But whoever my friend may be, in my heart I choose love and friendship toward him and adhere to this.

Any interaction I have with a friend brings trials into our communication. I do not know what surprises the enemy of the soul is preparing for us, but I know for certain that he will definitely try to destroy what the Lord is building. And God allows the testing of our love and invites us to enter this fire.

Knowing that in our friendship any misunderstanding may occur for which we are not prepared, I propose to my friend to be honest and sincere in everything and immediately share everything that may enter our relationship and damage it. These may be very good experiences or bitter disappointments.

I know the story of one friendship that was tested by fire. Adam and his wife had friendly fellowship with their Creator, who personally came to them in the cool of the day and had a wonderful relationship with them. With each day they knew each other better and better and remained in constant joy from such fellowship. God could be asked any question and immediately receive the wisest and most correct answer. The Creator strove to give His children everything they needed and explain to them everything that interested them. Their friendship grew and strengthened with each day. And every new day brought discoveries and blessings that greatly delighted the heart. Everything around was made with love and for love. The first people lived in the atmosphere of Heaven, and nothing overshadowed their happiness. They knew God personally, face to face, knew His voice and discovered for themselves the beauty of His character from personal fellowship.

But someone came who decided to share his opinion about God. The unfamiliar "well-wisher" looked very attractive, and his speeches were quite convincing. At first he began to speak through an animal called a "serpent," which attracted the attention of Adam's wife. A talking serpent was something unusual even for those who were accustomed to seeing miracles. And the words he began to share made her think. Before the wife was someone who knew the Creator very well and decided to initiate the curious woman into the mysteries of God's soul, which she had not even suspected. What the serpent said was something new and attractive. Adam's wife learned from her new interlocutor that their Heavenly Friend was hiding very important things and did not want to initiate people into the mysteries of good and evil, forbidding them to do what opens the eyes and gives knowledge.

Eve could have gone and consulted with her husband, and then asked the Lord Himself about what she learned, and heard from the first lips an explanation for what interested her so much. But for some reason she decided to believe the serpent and tasted the forbidden fruit. The enemy of the soul gained power over the will of the sinful woman and already through her lips began to address Adam, telling about what God is really like, and how much of everything interesting He hides under the guise of prohibitions. Adam could have called upon God's Name and consulted with his Heavenly Father and heard God's opinion on the questions that arose. He knew his Creator personally and had close friendly relations with Him. I think that the Lord would not have left Adam in ignorance about Himself if there had been a desire to know the truth from the Primary Source. But man preferred to trust the enemy of the soul and violated God's prohibition, tasting the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The very name of the tree says that sin has in it something good that may look quite good and right, but the presence of evil in this good makes such fruit unfit for consumption, for it brings death.

A similar story is repeated very often in our time. If I decided to be friends with someone, wished to love and be a friend, then perhaps there will be those who want to save me and my friend from our friendship. And such "well-wishers" may be completely unfamiliar people, or they may turn out to be the closest friends.

I recall a case when I decided to become a friend to one person who interested me with his cheerfulness. I first made this decision in my heart, asked for God's blessing on it, and then declared to the unfamiliar person that I decided to become his friend, which greatly surprised him and turned his whole life upside down. Immediately I began to receive information from all sides about what this person is really like, how many problems he causes, and how dangerous he is. I became uncomfortable. But my decision to be a friend remained in force, and I wished to personally understand all this. I made a choice to love the one I chose and to have my own opinion about the one who has so many enemies. The Lord revealed much to me and showed me in these relationships, and I personally became convinced that my friend has character imperfections, but this does not interfere with our friendship. I accept him as he is, while not agreeing with what I see in a different light. And this person perfectly understands that I know everything about him, but with this knowledge I remain a friend who loves at all times. I do not share with anyone what I know about a friend, but can only discuss some details of my knowledge with Jesus. Such an attitude preserved our friendship, and I am clean before my friend in that I am not saving all his other friends and acquaintances from him.

In communicating with my friends, I agree that we will share with each other everything that may bring misunderstanding into our relationship. And together we solve many issues.

To my surprise, "well-wishers" appear who decide to save my friends from friendship with me. I do not try to learn their names because they prefer to carry out their "good deed" anonymously. But in response to such actions, I can only present myself and tell the whole truth from the first lips, and what motives and feelings I have in this or that matter. And if my friend decides to clarify and hear from me my opinion about me, then I gladly share this. I think that only the Lord knows me better than I know myself, so I always have something to tell.

With my close friends I have more communication than with "well-wishers," but for some reason it happens that a minimum of information about me, and not always current, sounds more convincing in the ears of a friend who knows me better than everyone else.

The Bible warns us that tale-bearers and carriers of other people's secrets can become dangerous well-wishers with whom it is better not to communicate. I try to adhere to this rule, but I cannot protect my friends from such a spirit and therefore I enter this test of friendship with pain in my heart, understanding that such communication on the side can separate us forever without cause. Unfortunately, someone believes rumors, and I become not who I am, and our friendly relations cease. But fortunately, there are people who decide to hear my opinion about me too, and all doubts are dispelled. And we continue to love each other and are very happy.

1. Please read Gen. 3:1-13; Amos 3:3; Eccl. 4:9-12; Lev. 19:16; Prov. 11:13; 16:28; 18:8; 20:19; 26:20-26; Ps. 15:1-3; 101:5-7; Luke 3:14; 5:29-39; Mark 2:15-28; John 21:20-22; Rev. 12:10; Rom. 1:28-32 in light of this chapter.

2. What did you understand from this topic?

3. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

4. Have you experienced separation from friends because of gossip from other people?

5. Is it worth warning friends of danger if you see that they have fellowship with dangerous people? Matt. 16:6,12.

6. What is the difference between tale-bearing and warning? 1 Cor. 15:33.

7. Have you had it happen that someone told you their "truth" about your friend, and you listened to it with pleasure?

8. Is it pleasant for you to be friends with a person who has been blackened in your eyes?

9. Is it worth expecting that my love and friendship with a friend will not be subjected to any trials?

10. What is the difference between truth and slander?

11. What to do if my friend has distanced himself from me because of slander against me?

12. For what reason did the Lord lose part of the faithful angels? Was He able to bring them back?

13. Can my confidential relationship with a friend protect us from various "well-wishers"?

14. Should my friend and I invite new friends into our friendship?

15. If I have the "gift of seeing other people's sins," should I develop it and warn my neighbors about "dangerous" friends?