“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27.6
I think every culture has proverbs and sayings like this proverb.
It is our friends, our true friends who put their “neck on the line” to tell us the truth – and often our worst enemies that just “sweet talk” us into all sorts of trouble!
Someone put it this way: “You can kiss a fool… and a fool can kiss you… but don’t ever let a kiss… fool you!”
Sure, there are people who never have anything good to say – it makes them feel better to correct everyone else all the time – and usually they end up being lonely because people learn to stay away from them.
But good friends, real friends – they are worth having because they will tell us the truth even if it hurts sometimes. Do we have friends like that? Are we able to be a friend like that? May the Lord help us to be faithful friends.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”