Our world teaches us how to be:
Budget-Friendly Pet-Friendly
Eco-Friendly Kid-Friendly
But the Bible teaches us to be People-friendly. In truth, it’s pretty easy to be Budget-friendly (spend wisely), Pet-friendly (create spaces Fido and Fluffy will love), Eco-friendly (treat the earth well) and Kid-friendly (give children foods they’ll eat). But sometimes coming up with ways to be just plain ol’ friendly to another human being stumps us!
In a world that drives up the driveway, pushes the garage door open, closes it quickly, and goes inside before anyone sees a real, live person getting out of the car, being friendly can be uncomfortable. However, if we love the Lord Jesus and desire to be like Him, we won’t avoid people; we’ll look for ways to minister to them.
Proverbs 18:24
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:
Not – Should, might, or maybe, but MUST shew himself friendly.
How could you and I show or prove our friendliness today?
- Reach out – Make contact. Smile. Give a hug. Send a text. Make a call. Send a card. An unfriendly person will turn and go the other direction to avoid others.
- Give out – Give of your time – make a visit. Give of your possessions – provide a need. An unfriendly person will only see their own needs. If they do see the needs of someone else, they’ll dismiss the thought of helping.
- Speak out – Use your words to be a blessing. Give a greeting at church to the visitor you don’t know. Stop to chat and get acquainted. Speak with the stranger in the grocery store. Don’t be afraid to engage in conversation. An unfriendly person only speaks to people that makes them feel comfortable.
Now, you evaluate – are you friendly? What could you do to change that today? The Lord will help you! Philippians 4:13
John 13:35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Will others know by watching us that we are Christ’s followers? Open more than your garage door – open your heart’s door to someone today and show the love of Christ to them!
How has someone recently shown friendliness to you?
With love,
RefreshHer 
This is a great point! Sometimes it’s not so easy to find something to do. Mom and I took food to Sylvia yesterday. Even though she has had several people bring food, she was happy. Happy we thought of her and happy to see us. We sat and talked for a while.
Thank you for this today! With snowy sidewalks and cars, it’s easy to find a way to help a friend today, too. =)
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Good for you, Leah, and good point about the snowy gestures we could do today!
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What a great post and so true. What does it cost a person to just smile and say Good Morning? This morning I drove thru McD’s for a cup of coffee and the woman who took my money was so pretty. I felt compelled to tell her how nice she looked and how pretty her smile was! We all need to be encouraged.
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A genuine compliment could make a person’s day! Way to go, Arlene!
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Over the past year or so, I’ve felt convicted to start being much more friendly to people I meet in the grocery store, especially those employees I see every week. Many times I see some of the same shoppers, too. I always try to have a smile and a cheerful greeting. It’s easy (speaking for myself, anyway) to get bogged down in our own concerns and just try to get in and out of the store with our groceries. But — as you so beautifully pointed out — God’s Word teaches we must show ourselves friendly! One time, a lady who was bagging my groceries admired a necklace I was wearing. I had made it myself, so I made one for her, more in her colors, and gave it to her the next time I happened to see her in the store. I have no idea how or if God will use that, but it’s something I felt led to do and it was so simple. Thanks for sharing this!
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What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
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I love this! I am still trying to get to know my neighbors after just moving to the area last summer. Thanks for the reminder of the necessity to be people friendly and reach out to others. Everyone seems so busy and tends to neglect the people in their lives.
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I’ll be praying you find the perfect way to reach out!
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