I listened to a great podcast by Andy Stanley recently about the influence your friends have on you. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Sure hanging out with foolish people may not make you a fool, but nonetheless the foolish decisions of those around you will at some point, in some way affect you negatively.
I couldn’t help but think of my own life and how important it was for me to make the decision to change my circle of friends to people who had similar values, ethics and ambitions. Prior to this decision all of the red flags that Andy mentions were going off in my head but it took some time still for me to make the decision to change my posse. Failing to act led to a number of bad situations and a great deal of harm. It wasn’t until I began spending more time with Christians that I began to be more comfortable in my own skin and experiencing healthy, growing relationships. That didn’t mean that I totally abandoned my old friends, but the bulk of my time was spent with people who shared my deepest convictions and values.
I know of so many Christian young people who are spending almost all of their time with people that don’t share their faith. As the Proverbs say this will eventually lead to harm. Whether they are looking for a significant other or a good group of friends, the best place to do so is the church.
If this describes you I encourage you to listen to this 30 min podcast then get involved with a local church. As Andy says don’t wait a year and a lot of harm and bad decisions later to make this decision.
Check out the Guardrails series – Part 2 – Why Can’t We be Friends?