We watch spending patterns. We note the respect and affection with which he or she treats others. We are sensitive to questionable habits. I'm not advocating the adoption of a KGB-like stance toward one another. But men and women who truly love one another protect one another from broken-world possibilities.
Friends take time.
And most of us do not have that time unless we make this cultivation of Christian fellowship a major priority. Rebuilding Your Broken World, p. 203-204. Close the one-hour accountability check up with ten to fifteen minutes of prayer. Focus on concerns of the week. Patrick M. Morley, The Man In The Mirror, p. 286-288.