The Bible Speaks to You October 11, 1969 Issue

[The above is an abbreviated, postproduction text of the program released for broadcast the week of October 3—9 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You." Heard internationally over more than 1,000 stations, the weekly programs are prepared and produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 02115.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 392 - A Choice of Friends: A Choice of Values

David Me McAlary with contributions from Harvey Wood

[The speaker is Harvey Wood. The questioner is David McAlary.]

Questioner: Friendship and companionship are important to all of us, especially to young people starting out in life. One of the more challenging decisions they have to make is choosing what values they want to live by—and especially how those values will influence their choice of friends and companions. Some have a knack for picking good friends and companions, but others don't.
Speaker: It may come easier for some than others, but friendship is a talent we all have the right to express. I'd like to comment further on this, but first let me ask you something. What do you see as the difference between an acquaintance and a friend?
Questioner: An acquaintance is someone you simply know, but a friend is someone you can share experiences with, someone you can confide in and feel at ease with. You have things in common with him.
Speaker: Yes. What you are saying points to choosing a friend on the basis of the qualities of thought he expresses, not on the basis of social status and so on. Essentially, it's a matter of values, of judgment in choosing the qualities of thought that we wish to companion with.

There's a wonderful statement in the Bible that hints at what I'm talking about. Proverbs says (17:17), "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." And in Job we read (34:4), "Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good."
Questioner: Trying to know what is good in terms of friendship and companionship is easier said than done.
Speaker: I think that any of us like to think of good as that which brings out the very finest in us, which is another way of saying that it is that which is of God. The best friend mankind has ever known, Christ Jesus, taught that spiritual values—unselfed love, genuine interest in others, forgiveness, patience, honest caring—have their source in God, infinite Spirit.