9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (CSB)
1. Cultivate a genuine interest in others.
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you.
Philippians 2:19 (CSB)
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3 (CSB)
10 and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. 11 The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.
Isaiah 58:10-11 (CSB)
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.
Proverbs 17:17 (CSB)
2. Offer sincere encouragement to others.
20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests
Philippians 2:20 (CSB)
20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; 21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:20-21 (CSB)
22 But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father.
Philippians 2:22 (CSB)
16 If you find honey, eat only what you need; otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.
Proverbs 25:16 (CSB)
25 Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:25 (CSB)
13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
Hebrews 3:13 (CSB)
3. Practice an unselfish release of people.
25 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need.
Philippians 2:25 (CSB)
26 since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. 29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.
Philippians 2:26-30 (CSB)
4. Give friends freedom.
16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.
2 Timothy 4:16 (CSB)
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
2 Timothy 4:17 (CSB)
24 One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 (CSB)