Conviction. Such a small, simple word with such an important meaning. Dictionary.com says it is a "fixed or firm belief." Everyone has convictions of some sort or another. It can be as simple as believing that cats are better than dogs, or can be as big as believing whether dating is right or wrong. A conviction is a conviction.
Are some convictions (such as dating is not right for me to do) easy to stick to? No, of course not! There will always be someone who will try to belittle your convictions, and maybe even make a big deal of it to embarrass you. Are they your real friends? Are they the people that you really trust to respect and help you through life?
Some people say it is too hard to have convictions because of some of the reasons above. But God promises us, as Christians, that we "can do all things through Christ..." (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)
In 1 Samuel 18, David (who would one day be King David) and Jonathan (King Saul's son) became really good friends. The story tells us in verse 1 that "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David." In other words, they became very close friends very quickly.
Friends like David and Jonathan support each other. If you read through the story, you will see what these friends faced together. They both had convictions, and each respected the other. This is real friendship. They stuck together through the good and bad, and respected each other.
These are the kinds of friends we should seek out. They may not agree with you on everything, but they should respect you and what you believe. Aren't those the kinds of friends you want?
Suggested reading-- 1 Samuel 18-20
God bless!:D
