CHOOSE WISELY
PROVERBS 12:26 NKJV
26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
There are many adages about choosing friends.
You are known by the company you keep.
Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future.
Our proverb for today is a short and to-the-point warning about choosing friends. The warning is directed to the righteous. The righteous are those who are in right standing with God and endeavoring to live right before Him.
If the goal is to please God and honor Him with our life, then we must be careful about our friends.
Choose carefully, bad friends can lead you in a bad way.
Way too many people have thought they could handle having friends who lived with no regard for God. And way too many have wound up where they never dreamed they would be. The wrong friends influenced them in the wrong way.
In the scriptures, there are many warnings regarding not being too connected with those who are away from God. Of course, we still must reach out to them, but there is a big difference between reaching out and constantly hanging out.
APPLICATION:
I had just come back to the Lord when one of my party buddies contacted me. He was separated from his wife and wanted to be my roommate. I had to seriously pray about that and wound up telling him no. I recognized I was too young in the Lord to be a good influence, so I passed.
When it comes to friends who are away from God, choose carefully. If you can't influence them toward God, don't put yourself in a situation where they can influence you.
Pray for them. Be there for them when they need you. Invite them to church. But don't follow their ways. You are a part of God's kingdom and family and an ambassador for Christ. Represent well and keep your light shining brightly.