Jeremiah 17:9-10. NKJV.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
Life is full of unfriendly friends.
Some people didn’t die when the arrow was pierced in their chest, they died when they saw who threw the arrow. These unfriendly friends are known for their treacherousness, back stabbers will laugh with you in a while at another moment will want to stampede you with evil already plotted behind you.
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm”. (Proverbs 13:20). An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. (Proverbs 18:1) A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.
THERE ARE SIGNS TO RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU’RE DEALING WITH UNFRIENDLY FRIEND.
~. Unfriendly friends plot against you at night and laugh with you in the morning. They smile a lot and act nice to you, but really, they are talking and gossiping behind your back.
~. They appear when they need you and disappear when you need them the most. They are very selfish and self-centered.
~. Your Success threatens them. They get upset when something good happens to you. They are highly covetous.
They blackmail you emotionally, Takes advantage of you. Cause you pain, hurt you and deceive you.
~. They always try to compete with you and make you feel they are better than you.
~. Unfriendly friends always criticize you negatively. They constantly point out all the negative things about your Life. They don’t see anything good about you.
~. They discredit you and doubt everything you say or do. They hold you in low esteem and spread lies about you. They lack faith in you and belittle your achievements.
~. They are not consistent. You cannot depend or rely on them. They are not trustworthy.
~. Unfriendly friends don’t feel bad or remorse when they hurt you. They never apologize rather they are judgmental; always feeling they are right.
~. They rejoice when something bad happens to you. Your pain gives them Joy.
~. Unfriendly friends will never patronize you even if you sell the secrets to Long Life and Prosperity, all because of envy and jealousy.
~. They are happy when you share your secrets with them, because, they are going to use it against you, to blackmail, hurt or betray you without your notice.
HOW CAN WE AVOID A HURTFUL RELATIONSHIP
“Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man.” Proverbs 22:24. Set clear boundaries with your friend when you dictates that he or she is not stable in character so that he or she understands why you are putting whatever happened behind you.
Talk To Them; Let your friend know that their comments are patronizing and hurtful. Communicate openly about your feelings and give them instances when their behavior or comments hurt you. Call them out on their unsupportive behavior.
Sometimes, your problem is not the Problem as such but the actual Problem is the person you tell your problems. Be very careful when dealing with friends who does not celebrate you when something good happens to you rather they will want to talk it down by referring to some other person’s good news in comparison with whatever you consider good news; Just smile and node your head.
