Slavery v. Friendship

Over the last few years I have been wrestling with the concept of friendship. I have throughout my life seen people come and go. I must add here that I believe in long term friendships, which is evident by the fact that i still have tight relations with people I have known since the age of 4(big up to Skeet and Enji). I still have people in my life from all the areas of life. I enjoy connecting with them when I can, even though my schedule gets quite hectic. I wondered how have these relationships been able to last, even though time, distance, change of life and experiences, has interrupted the continuity and connective nature of the relationships. I believe it comes down to one factor, and that true friendship gives room to accept the other person for who they are. Surely we can have our opinions about what the other person should do or say or think. However, that is not friendship, that is slavery. To control another to manipulate them in the way we want them to be, robs them of the beauty of their individuality. We had a saying on line when I pledged Omega Psi Phi, and that was "the difference between a brother and a friend is that a friend is chosen". We have to choose to accept someone as a friend, even though there will be moments we do not agree or see things eye to eye. The realness of a friendship is that we love them for who they are and not what they do. Jesus echoes this when he explains our relationship to God in the Gospel of John. Jesus says "we are no longer slaves but friends". Wow, what a statement. That God is not looking for slaves who do things out of obligation, rather friends who can be appreciated for who they are and respond in real relationship. The question I pose, do you want friends or slaves?