Choose Your Friends Wisely

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
(Prov. 12:26)

                Remember the lectures your mom and dad used to give you about choosing the right friends?  Why were they so concerned about the company we keep?  Because they knew that running with the wrong crowd could land us in lots of trouble.  You know what?  Mom and dad were right!  How many times have we seen a “good kid” get influenced by troublemakers, only to reproduce some of the wicked behaviors they saw in the bad boys – alcohol, drugs, crime, etc.

                Today’s verse is not just for school-aged kids – it’s for every person that longs to live godly in Christ Jesus.  “The righteous should choose his friends carefully.”  Think of it like this – we try to choose carefully when we go to the grocery store.  We squeeze the tomatoes to see if they’re too soft.  We smell the cantaloupes to see if they’re ripe.  We inspect the bananas to see if they’re too brown.  Why shouldn’t we use even more caution when determining our circle of friends?

                Solomon reminds us that “the way of the wicked leads them astray.”  Paul said something similar to the church at Corinth – “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33).  Don’t surround yourself with people who discourage your walk with God and try to get you back into old habits.  Align yourself with those who love the Lord and encourage each other to follow Christ.  Together, you can join forces to reach those who still need Jesus.