Relevant Magazine recently posted an article exploring whether or not you should ever end a friendship because a person is dragging you down. In the article the author discusses several types of friends who could possibly fit in this category. He encourages the establishing of healthy boundaries with these people, in order to allow yourself room to grow and recoup. He then asserts that if these people continue to bring you down, then you should end the friendship.
The notion of ending a friendship because a person brings you down seems to fly in the face of biblical teaching. Sacrifice, love, patience, and care are at the very heart of what it means to be a friend. If you abandon that person because they are bringing you down, what are you saying about how much you really care about them? Did you care about them in the first place? A true friend will pray for, be patient with, and minister to someone who is difficult to love. We cannot just give up on people and leave them to their own destruction.