Can we be Friends?

I actively and passionately seek friendship and fellowship with my brothers & sisters in Christ who share the following ideals of friendship.

I am a Born Again Christian, who fears God, loves God, and wants to be fully obedient to God and the Holy Bible.  I seek to live without hypocrisy, living according to God's truth, facts, priorities, urgencies, values, goals, plans, & morals.  

Therefore I love all humans in the same manner as I love myself.  

We are all sinners in this fallen, evil world.  Some sin more than others, or sin differently.  i believe that those who truly love their friends, neighbour, & acquaintences will warn them of dangers (both in this life, and the next), help them, & edify them.

If you are not currently a Born Again, obedient Christian who lives a righteous life without hypocrisy, then I still invite you to be my friend.  However, be aware that I have a duty to preach the Gospel to you, and warn you of the costs and dangers of the path you currently walk; all this done with love, compassion, & friendship.

Christians have a duty to lovingly rebuke their friends & fellow Christians for their obvious sins, transgressions, or unfriendly behaviour.  

Good friends willingly learn from their mistakes, re-examine their questionable behaviour(s), & if necessary, seek additional info from their friends or others.  If they have truly acted in a unfriendly or sinful manner, they will:   1) contritely confess, repent, and seek forgiveness from God;  2)  apologize to their friend(s) that they wronged;  3) offer restitution if warranted;  and 4) ask for their friend's forgiveness.

Good friends quickly & graciously accept heartfelt confessions, repentance, &  apologies; and forgive their friend(s).  Good friends hold neither anger, nor bitterness, nor hard feelings, nor malevolence, nor passive-aggressive feelings, nor vengence against their repentant friend(s); instead, they forgive, move on, and don't look back.

Both Christians and good friends flee from sin, temptation, and evil persons who harm others (purposefully or inadvertently).

Both Christians & good friends practice the Fruits of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis:  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,  righteousness, godliness, and patience.

Both I, and those whom I seek to call my friends choose to mutually treat themselves and all others with dignity, respect, trustworthiness, and the full truth in all conversations.  

Trustworthiness is defined by, created by, protected by,  nurtured by, or destroyed by 4 factors:   1) Benevolent best interest in the other party;  2) Open & honest communication;  3) Competency; and 4) Predictable behaviour.  These I seek to practice so that I am a trustworthy person.  I expect similarly from my friends.

If someone is not willing (or not able) to share the whole truth, then they should keep quiet, or alert the other(s) that they are only sharing the truth on one segment, but not all segments.

Friends support, help, encourage, and celebrate the other friend's activities and victories; and commiserate their troubles.

Friends may (or more often, may not) agree on all opinions, alleged facts, factors to be considered, actions, inactions, tastes, styles, priorities, urgencies, values, and goals.  Provided these occur within the previously stated limits, good friends will welcome, accept, cheerfully tolerate, &/or celebrate these diversities among friends.

I choose to be bound by all the above for my friends, my fellow Christians, and all others; yes, even those who choose to be sinful, &/or my enemy.

If all this sounds like the type of friendship you would like to have with me, and you voluntarily agree to be bound by all the above, then I welcome you as my friend, & look forward to the mutual benefits of our friendship from now on.

Comments on my definitions and ideals on Christian friendship?  Please leave your comment, & suggestions.

Trust

Are you a trustworthy person?

Do you repeatedly trust people who aren't worthy of trust, eventually causing you pain & suffering?

Trust is defined by 4 factors:

1. Benevolent best interest in the other party. 
2. Open & honest communication.
3. Competency.
4. Reliability.

These 4 factors define, built, nurture, and protect trust, as identified by psychological research done in 1999.

When one or more of these factors are weak or missing, trust can be quickly destroyed, or reduced.

Trust can take years to build, yet can be destroyed in seconds, or by one failing incident.

Do you trust God?  Does God trust you?

 Psalm 118:8 "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

Honorable, Righteous, Trustworthy People

We are in a crazy, mixed up, upside down world, and AntiChrist hasn't even risen yet (but soon will).

To help you stabilize your life (&/or somebody you know), here is something I wrote as a Saturday Sabbath sermon at King James Bible Church, Manitoulin.

Honorable, Righteous, Trustworthy People

Honorable, Righteous, Trustworthy People ("HRTP") obey all of God's Commandments. 

HRTP's treat others as kindly and lovingly as themselves.

HRTP's are trustworthy (ie. take the benevolent best interest in the other people before they act in their own self interest; ensures open & honest communication occurs; have predictable behaviors; and are competent in what they say & do). 

HRTP's realize that those 4 factors of trustworthiness slowly build trust inside families, between friends & neighbours, between employees and employers, and all other relationships. 

HRTP's realize that loss of one or more of those 4 factors of trust will instantly destroy trust. Trust builds slowly, and is destroyed instantly. 

HRTP's fellowship and teamwork with other HRTP's.

HRTP's keep a safe distance away from those who are not HRTP's, and approach only under safe, controlled conditions (so as to not be negatively effected by their dysfunctional behaviours).

HRTP's plan their life in advance. 

HRTP's meet their commitments already made, and will reasonably and prudently make new commitments with themselves & others.

HRTP's will pay off old debts (if any) as quickly as possible, be content to live within their current means and income, and plan their life so as to avoid debt. 

HRTP's realize that moving something from one place to another, or from one time to another, takes extra work. 

HRTP's realize that loans solve no problems, often make current problems bigger (ie. Interest), and only moves the debt problem to the future. 

HRTP's realize that like a snowplow pushing snow, someone can only push it so far as the pile of snow gets bigger & bigger, until they can no longer push this huge pile they have created. Unlike a snowplow that can back up, debtors are chained to their huge pile of debt they have created, and cannot escape.