Choosing Your Circle
You become the room you stand in.
On friendship and who shapes you.
The big idea
Nobody is unaffected by their closest five people.
Opening scripture
“Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”
What does “Choosing Your Circle” walk through?
Iron Sharpens Iron
Proverbs 27:17 · KJV
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
In plain English
Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.
Sharpening Makes Sparks
The image is not comfortable. Iron on iron involves friction and heat. Real friendship includes being told things you would rather not hear.
A Friend At All Times
Proverbs 17:17 · KJV
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
In plain English
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for hard times.
“Choose friends by who you become around them, not by how much fun they are.”
Do Not Give Up Meeting
Hebrews 10:25 · KJV
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
In plain English
Don't give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. Encourage one another, all the more as the day approaches.
Proximity Is Not Optional
The instruction is embarrassingly practical: keep showing up. Community does not survive on intention, only on attendance.
Pray
God, give me friends who make me braver and kinder. Make me one. Amen.
Write it down
Who makes you more like Jesus, and when did you last see them?
Pick well
Text the one who sharpens you.
Which passages does this journey use?
3 passages, drawn from Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 17:17, Hebrews 10:25. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 6 minutes for the whole thing, or 7 short sittings.
- Proverbs 27:17
- Proverbs 17:17
- Hebrews 10:25
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in Relationships
All Relationships →When A Friendship Ends
Grief nobody throws you a funeral for.
Being The Only Christian In The Group
Faithful without being obnoxious.
Loving Your Siblings
The people you did not choose.
When Home Is Hard
For anyone whose house is not a refuge.
Honoring Parents You Disagree With
Respect that is not agreement.
Dating With Intention
Choosing on purpose, not by drift.