Core values part 2

Hi everyone, today’s post is a continuation of yesterday’s post Core values part one. 
Previously, we established the fact that in our choice if friends we should make sure that even if we don’t agree on every single thing, we agree on the most important things. We described these as core values. 
The first four core values we saw, the first four things we should at least agree on with those we choose as friends are as follows 

• God exists and He is The Creator of Heaven and earth 
• There is only One God and He alone is to be worshipped and adored
• The Bible is The Word of God 
• There’s a difference between good and evil 

Let’s now continue with the other values.
1. Obedience to God comes first 
A good friend is one who lets you freely follow The Lord and who will prefer that you please God rather than please him/her. In choosing your friends, choose people who will put obedience to God before their caprices. 
Following people’s whims instead of following God leads us to fall in the same trap that Saul fell in. Surround yourself with friends who will lead you to serve God and not to turn away from Him for them. 
1 Samuel 15:24 KJV

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord , and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

2. Being honest is important 

Colossians 3:9-10 KJV

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; [10] And have put on the new man , which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

If lying is something funny to your friend, how can you trust him/her? When will you know that they’re actually saying the truth and when will you know whether there’re lying? 
Some people just lie about everything, and their framed excuse for their lies is “everybody lies”. However, The Bible commands us not to lie to one another. If you have a friend who isn’t even able of being honest and who doesn’t even accept that lying is a sin, then how can you believe him/her when they say they are your friends. 
It’s high time for every Christian to take this lies telling issue more seriously and to first set the example by stopping to lie to one another, to our friends, parents, loved ones. If you are honest, your heart will be inclined towards honest people, and this shall better orientate your choice of friends.  
3. Purity is God’s Will for us 
1 Corinthians 6:18-19 KJV

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Suppose you have a friend who tells you that to him/her sex out of marriage is not a sin, do you think that person will ever try to encourage you to wait for marriage and obey God’s Word? I doubt it. 
The people you spend most of your time with will in one way or another influence you, either through their mode of life or through their way of thinking or even through all the conversations you hear them have on a certain topic. If you surround yourself with people who value sexual purity, they will encourage you in valuing it, while, if you surround yourself with people to whom sexual immorality is nothing but a game and having fun, their way of thinking will influence you or another of your loved ones. 
I have a little question. It’s just a food for thought: ” If your friend’s life style habit is to sleep with other peoples’ wives, do you think if he has an occasion he won’t sleep with yours? “. 
Leviticus 18:20 KJV

Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.

4. Forgiveness is part of the relationship 
Nobody on earth can safely claim to be perfect. We all make mistakes and when we mess up, we need out friends to forgive is and to support us. 
Matthew 6:14 KJV

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

You want to have the kind of friend who knows the love and the power which are found in forgiveness, because there’re moments when you’ll really need their forgiveness. 
Finally, the aim here in talking about Core values, wasn’t for you to hate anyone or to push all your friends away from you. The aim was to let you decipher amongst all your friends who are those whom you can really consider as friends and who make you grow in The Lord. Concerning your friends who are unbelievers or backslikders, pray for them without judging them nor hating them but with love, so that God will lead them to Christ Jesus. 
Prayer 
Father Lord God Almighty, help me find and keep friends with whom I agree about Core Christian values. Also, help me be a good friend in The Lord. In Jesus Christ’s Name I pray. Amen