A church billboard reads, “Good friendships added to your life multiplies joy, divides sorrow, and subtracts loneliness.” The importance of healthy friendships is explained well in the Book of Proverbs. True friends have each other’s back. “A friend is always loyal…” (Proverbs 17:17 NLT). “…A real friend sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 NLT).Friends, not only stand up for you, they can offer helpful advice. “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense” (Proverbs 27:9 NLT). However, both quarrels and gossip can destroy these precious bonds. Arguments put barricades between friends. “An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars” (Proverbs 18:19 NLT). Gossip also divides friends. “A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends” (Proverbs 16:28 NLT). So, it is important to protect and nurture our friendships.We must be careful, as certain friendships can pull us away from God. The Bible warns that bad-tempered friends are negative influences. “Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul” (Proverbs 22:24-25 NLT).God ordained our families, but He allows us to select our friends. In healthy relationships, each person pours into the life of the other; the commitment is not one-sided. We can’t control how others treat us, but we can control how we treat them. Therefore, we need to select friends carefully, remaining loyal and nurturing, keeping Jesus as the focal point of every relationship.