Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. – Proverbs 27:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 11, 2026): Proverbs 27

There is a paradox of friendship between what we need and what we want. Sometimes, friendship needs to present us with advice. Advice has many aspects to it. It can be “You need to adjust here.” But it can just as easily be “you are doing great, keep going.” Heartfelt advice is what it needs to be. And that is the role that friendship should play in our lives.

However, one of my hot-button issues is the echo chambers we all seem to crave. We want to surround ourselves with people who will agree with us on every point. But these people aren’t friends; they are “yes people” and “toadies.” And the truth is that we don’t need them; we need friends.

Let me share a list of names: Kenny, Tom, Scott, Danny, Allan, Tim, another Tim, Larry, Steve, Brian, Gary, and so many others. This list barely covers the first thirty years of my life. They are people whom I have called friends. And in every case, they are people with whom I have had significant disagreements. But we were friends, and we were able to get beyond the arguments.

As I look at the testimony of churches, even within my precious association, I have noticed that we seem to be unwilling to have significant disagreements. We don’t want friends; we want an echo chamber that refuses to challenge us. Instead, churches are now making demands that others act as they do. And my problem, which I wish someone would listen to, is that the demand to agree bothers me more than the hot topic on which we disagree. Friends will disagree, and there is nothing wrong with that. Christian friends disagree, even on the big-ticket items, and then are able to reach out and say, “I love you. And I am so thankful that you are in my life. And even though we don’t agree on this topic, I still see Christ in you.” Or as Paul says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

The Book of Proverbs stresses that heartfelt advice is the bedrock of friendship. Let me expand that to include the places where we disagree, because that is the strength of every real friendship. We can disagree, but know this: I love you anyway.                     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 28