Have you noticed that there are different kinds of friends? May be you have not really thought about that. I have and can now group them into 4 major groups:
1. There is one that adds (+)
2. There is one that subtracts (-)
3. There is one that multiplies (x)
4. There is one that divides (÷)
These friends have different roles they play in one’s life and I think it is good, we evaluate the friends and know the ones that are worth keeping and the ones that are not good to keep, for indeed, some are very detrimental.
Friends that Add (+)
This is the kind of friend that adds to your life; physically, spiritually, financially and otherwise. S/he is a positive friend that stands by you when things are moving well and when there is storm. S/he goes extra mile to see that things work out well for you. He can forgo his pleasure just to make sure you are ok. Watch his/her words during discussion, it is always positive, full of advice and things that will help you forge ahead. When it warrants contributing money, s/he does cheerfully and when it calls for prayers, he can forgo food in order to stand in the gap for you. When you are overtaken by an event that makes you go contrary, he doesn’t hesitate to correct you and when there is hassle between you, s/he is always ready to come back for amendment. Indeed, this kind of friend is worth keeping.
Friends that Subtract (-)
In Maths, subtraction is always the opposite of addition. This also applies to this set of friends. He is the opposite of what I have said so far. Instead of adding to one’s life, s/he is ready to reduce. When it seems you are spiritually high, that is when s/he will pick one quarrel or something that will bring you both spiritually and emotionally down. Financially, s/he is nowhere to be found, but will be bent on collecting from you until there is nothing with you to collect, then s/he might shift base, only to come back when it seems you are financially balanced again. Whenever you have a good dream of what to do in the future, one mistake you can make is sharing it with a “negative” friend. S/he will look for a way to discourage you from embarking on that dream. I met a friend like that some time, some where. We happened to belong to a group and were some how moving together and fellowshipping together. One day, a menial job that will take about 2 weeks came up and initially, I didn’t hear about it but she did. Along the line I came to know about it and asked her if she knows the place where they are submitting application, she said, she was just coming back from there and can’t go back, that the place is in interior part of the next town. I asked her to describe it for me, she said she can’t actually describe it and to summarize everything, she told me that they have finished taking the people they wanted, so there won’t be any need for me to go there. As God will have it, I decided to give it a trial. I just boarded a vehicle to the next village, when I got there, I picked a bike and we started looking for the place. We went to one government parastatal’s office that told us nothing of such was going on there and described another place where we can go and ask. Eventually, we located the place and I entered. Guess who I saw when I entered. Don’t let your imagination run wild, ok. Lo and behold, I saw that same “sister” that told me she can’t describe the place for me and she wasn’t going back there. That means, after discussing with me, she entered bus and came back to that same place. To God be the glory, I submitted my name, and was taken and when the person that got the contract was traveling, he handed the work at the head office over to me because they needed someone that had computer knowledge.
Friends that Divide (÷)
These friends are almost the same with friends that subtract. One major difference is that they are good in putting asunder. Experts in sowing special seeds called “seed of discord”. They specialize in creating enmity between two people that are in good terms. Will I rather call them sadists? S/he can cook up stories that can make two people to fight and when the fight ensues, he declines. I’m scared of that friend that is fond of telling me negative things about people, because one day, s/he must surely tell others negative things about me.
Friends that multiply (x)
This kind of friend multiplies in geometrical progression. If you view this mathematically, you will find out that when you talk of geometrical progression, you talk of an event that doubles itself in twos, threes etc, unlike arithmetical, that goes sequentially. I hope that interpretation goes down well. Now back to base. A friend that multiplies always replicates its kind. He carries others along in whatever he does. If he finds out where a fellow friend can gain, he doesn’t hesitate in introducing it to him. He talks positively and tries to inculcate that into whoever he is dealing with. If you are thinking of starting a small business and shares the idea with him, he ends up gingering and pulling you into starting a bigger and better one. And at the end, you will be ever grateful to him.
