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  • Expand Your Circle of Friends

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  • Expand Your Circle of Friends
  • Awake!—2020
  • Subheadings
  • Similar Material
  • The Problem
  • Bible Principle
  • How Expanding Our Circle of Friends Helps
  • What You Can Do
  • They Broke the Barrier of Prejudice
    Awake!—2020
  • Show Love
    Awake!—2020
  • Should I Expand My Circle of Friends?
    Young People Ask
  • Can All Races Live Together as Brothers?
    The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—1970
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Awake!—2020
g20 No. 3 pp. 10-11
Four women of different racial backgrounds talking and laughing as their children play together at a playground.

Expand Your Circle of Friends

The Problem

If we isolate ourselves from people whom we view negatively, we may reinforce our prejudices. And if we limit our friends to people who are like us, we may tend to think that our way is the only acceptable way of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Bible Principle

“Open your hearts wide.”​—2 CORINTHIANS 6:13.

What does it mean? Our “heart” can refer to our emotions and affections. If we have affection only for people who are similar to us, our heart becomes closed or cramped. To avoid that problem, we must be willing to befriend those who are different from us.

How Expanding Our Circle of Friends Helps

When we get to know others personally, we begin to understand why they do things differently. And as we grow closer to them, we start to see them as part of our own group. We come to value them more, and their joys and sorrows become our own.

Consider the example of Nazaré. She once felt prejudice toward immigrants. She explains what helped her: “I spent time with them and worked with them. I met people who were the complete opposite of what the rest of the community was saying they were. Once you befriend people from a different culture, you learn not to stereotype them, and you grow to love them and value them as individuals.”

A Word of Caution

Some people choose lifestyles with habits that are harmful to themselves and to others. Hence, we should be selective when expanding our circle of friends. It is not prejudicial to avoid friendship with unscrupulous individuals who behave in a depraved or offensive manner. While you should not seek to harm people who violate your moral standards or seek to deprive them of their rights, it is wise to exclude them from your circle of friends.​—Proverbs 13:20.

What You Can Do

Find opportunities to speak with people who are from a country, ethnicity, or language group different from yours. You could

  • Ask them to tell you a little about themselves.

  • Invite them to join you for a meal.

  • Listen to their stories, and find out what is important to them.

If you try to understand how their experiences have shaped their personality, you may develop a positive attitude toward people from their group.

Real-Life Example: Kandasamy and Sookammah (Canada)

“We grew up in South Africa during apartheid. People of different races were forced to live in separate communities, which fostered feelings of prejudice among the various racial groups. We were not white, and we particularly disliked white people because some had treated us as inferiors. At the time, we did not think that we were prejudiced. Rather, we felt that we were victims.

“To change our attitude, we took the initiative to widen out and have friends from different backgrounds. As we began to associate with white people, we realized that very little set us and them apart. We all experience similar circumstances and challenges.

“We even took the opportunity to host a white couple as guests in our home for a long period of time. We got to know them well. Soon we began to see each other as friends and equals. As a result, we started to view white people in general more positively.”

Genuine brothers

Johny and Gideon greeting children outside a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Although they were of different races and political views, Johny and Gideon developed a close friendship.

Watch the video Johny and Gideon: Once Enemies, Now Brothers. Search for the video title on jw.org.

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