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This summer I’m preaching through the book of Proverbs on the subject of wisdom. One of the things that has been clear from Proverbs is that if you want to live wisely and make good decisions, then you need to have wise mentors and advisors in your life and surround yourself with the right people. This morning I want to speak about something very similar that Proverbs says is essential to wise living, and that is choosing the right friends. Friendship is certainly not a sexy topic – there aren’t many songs about friendship or magazine covers about who is best friends with who – but having the right kind of friends is absolutely essential to wise living. When Proverbs discusses what it means to live wisely, it is clear that one of the things that can derail wise living is poorly chosen friends. And one of the things that can increase your wise living is having good friends.

Let’s begin by reading some verses on friendship:

Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:5-6,9-10,17 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. ⁶ Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses… ⁹ Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel. ¹⁰ Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you-- better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away ¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.

Proverbs 29:5 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.