Proverbs 27:6, 9 (NIV)
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses…
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
from their heartfelt advice.
Friends are those people who take the time to see into us and help us understand ourselves. They patiently help us sort the complexities of our lives and encourage us to persevere in becoming our true selves.
A real friend fragrances your life. There's something really winsome and fresh about a person who knows how to wear perfume or cologne that brings joy to your heart. It becomes an aroma by which you know them. It's always a welcome smell and one that lingers long after they have departed. It produces a pleasantness in your life; even joy. That's how Proverbs describes a friend.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.
Proverbs also shows us the other side of the friendship coin. It's not all roses. It brings to mind a dissimilar but unrelated set of smells and fragrances. Some people like to cover up bad smells with overdoses of Febreze. Personally, I find the scents of Febrese, at times, worse than the smell it is trying to cover up - burning eyes, a pungent air freshener smell that doesn't soon dissipate, and then the odour morphs into something like carpet deodoriser on the second day. "Effective but unpleasant," might be a good way to characterize the experience.
Here's how Proverbs describes such an experience:
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
Proverbs is talking about wounds of a friend, that we can trust. Another translation puts it: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
Or to continue the illustration above. Only your friends will Febreze you. They are willing to try and tell you something you need to hear. It may hurt your pride or offend your sensitivities or make you mad as a hornet, but you must remember this: They did it because they love you.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
They can be trusted.
So how about you?
Have you been "Febrezed" lately?
PRAYER
Abba Father, thank you for always speaking the truth in love to us. Thank you for friends who will do the same. Help us to be that kind of friend to others and let us so become the fragrance of Christ in the world. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
PROMPTS
- Do you have friends who are willing to Febreze you when needed?
- Have you ever given open permission to friends to speak the truth in love to you?
- Are you the kind of friend who is willing to be a gracious truth teller when needed?
Think of a time when you did.
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