Maintain Your Inner Circle

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“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

Jesus chose twelve disciples to mentor for the establishment of the great commission. Among the twelve he had a close inner circle of three, Peter, James and John whom he confided in. The hours approaching the crucifixion was a difficult time for Jesus where he struggled with the decision to suffer for mankind. In Matthew 26, he traveled to Gethsemane. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me” (Matthew 26:36-38).

There are people who will try to stay close to us because it meets a need for them. It is not wise to share your inner thoughts and deepest desires with acquaintances, but reserve your secrets for those closest to you who have earned your trust. Trust is not free, but has a currency which is earned with time and the demonstration of being worthy. Not everyone is worthy of trust and our discernment and a demonstration of loyalty will prove who you can trust.

We have to set boundaries in relationships and be careful in those seasons when you are most vulnerable. It is during these times when we need people around us who are safe. These people should also be able to hold us accountable, for decisions that we make and help us to stay grounded when times get difficult. Our inner circle should also challenge us to grow and bring out the best in us. Let us seek God about our relationships and close friendships and let God show us the people that we are able to keep close. “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬).

A.P.-Y.

Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.

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20 thoughts on “Maintain Your Inner Circle”

  1. You are very right, especially when one is vulnerable, that’s when you end up with the wrong person or people and the end is regrets. May God help us to be able to Differentiate between real friends and foes out there.
    Thanks Anneta.

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  3. I hear what you are saying but, I have come to believe that while respect is something that must be earned, the scary thing about trust is that it must be given. It is an investment of love – but as it happened with Judas, some investments fail. On the other hand, even though Peter looked like a terrible investment for a while, in the end, He yielded big dividends for the kingdom of God!

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    1. Hmmm. I don’t know that we give trust to people who haven’t demonstrated the ability to be trusted. Does this not set people up for disappointment? I suppose we don’t want to greet everyone with an air of suspicion either, but I believe trust has to be earned. More so, when there has been a breach of trust, do we not expect people to regain that trust through demonstrating a genuine repentance. I believe that Peter was genuinely sorry for what he had done, as was Judas, but unfortunately the devil tempted him to take his life. Thanks for your comments and for generating some discussion. I appreciate your thoughts. ☺️🙏🏾

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      1. I hear you. What I mean is that before things went South Jesus equally invested and freely gave trust to all His disciples. Grace means something we could never earn. For Peter to be restored he also couldn’t earn his way back but as you point out he did sincerely repent. Jesus was willing to take the chance of being hurt to express His love. In the end it wad Judas who lost everything in his failure of the trust Jesus had given.

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      2. I understand you. I suppose we give a degree of trust to everyone we meet and I suppose trust can be different. I’d say perhaps Jesus had greater trust in Peter, James and John and trusted them with different things which he didn’t trust the other disciples with? There may be things that we know that we cannot trust some people with, because they have demonstrated that they can’t be trusted in those areas. Like perhaps an alcoholic not being trusted with visiting a bar, for example.

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  4. This makes me think that there are fewer people that get closer to Jesus than the multitudes that only know him. There is salvation for all who know him, but there are treasures for those who get closer, and want greater access than only knowing Jesus.

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  8. I have always taught my children that true friends are few, and urged them not to expect to be surrounding by many, because they will fail you eventually. I always say 1 or 2 (true) friends is really about the max, but Jesus is the only One that sticketh closer than a brother!!

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