Reading Francis

I don’t usually post Bible verses by themselves. I figure you all have access to a Bible, or the internet, or both. But this passage, from Sirach (which is not in Protestant Bibles, though it was likely a passage Jesus knew), deserves it’s own spotlight:

“A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies,

And gracious lips prompt friendly greetings.

Let your acquaintances be many,

But one in a thousand your confidant.

When you gain a friend, first test him,

And be not too ready to trust him.

For one sort is a friend when it suits him,

But he will not be with you in time of distress.

Another is a friend who becomes an enemy,

And tells of the quarrel to your shame.

Another is a friend, a boon companion,

Who will not be with you when sorrow comes.

When things go well, he is your other self,

And lords it over your servants;

But if you are brought low, he turns against you

And avoids meeting you.

Keep away from your enemies;

Be on your guard with your friends.

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;

He who finds one finds a treasure.

A faithful friend is beyond price,

No sum can balance his worth.

A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,

Such as he who fears God finds;

For he who fears God behaves accordingly,

And his friend will be like himself.”

-Sirach 6:5-17