Tell me who your friends are

Proverbs 1:10 and v. 15

10 “My son, if sinners would take you out of the right way, do not go with them.”
15 “My son, do not go with them; keep your feet from their ways”

My grandparents used to recite the adage “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you what you’re like”. It didn’t mean much to me at the time, but I heard it often enough that it stuck with me. Over the years, my circle of friends has changed drastically.

I have very few close friends now, and I like it that way. I used to have a lot of “friends”. My high school yearbook is full of signatures and well-wishes. We had over 200 guests at our wedding. I have boxes of pictures of family and friends that I never see anymore. (Yes…I am THAT old. We used to pay to have rolls and rolls of film developed only to discover that half of the pictures were of very poor quality, but we treasured them anyway!) We signed the back of those paper prints and exchanged them in hand-written letters that we sent via Canada Post for $0.32.

When God called me, and I answered that call, some things naturally changed. It was no longer appropriate for me to behave the way that I did before conversion, so some friends and family just lost interest and fell away. I was no longer “fun” anymore and they found other people who were willing to stoop to their level of amusement. That hurt at first, but then God replaced them with godly “family” and the void was filled.

Then there were the people that I needed to purge from my life. Letting people go is never easy. It hurts everyone involved. The important thing to remember is that following God is more important than anything. If my “friends” change me in a negative way, then we shouldn’t be friends.

When I made the decision to surrender my life to God, I had to make sacrifices. My choices could no longer be based on what I wanted to do, but on what was pleasing to God. I would love to tell you that I immediately changed my ways and walked a straight path. Let’s be real. I did not simply because In the beginning, I failed to understand that some people who seem harmless can actually lead you down a perilous path by encouraging you to compromise your beliefs in small ways. I did, unfortunately, allow myself to be misled sometimes because I didn’t have the courage to just walk away. Even though I was not engaging in very big sins, I was still falling short of God’s expectations of me. It doesn’t matter how big or small a sin is. If I know what is right and choose not to do it, I have chosen poorly. As I grow in faith and maturity, it becomes so much easier to firmly stand my ground, knowing that God will richly bless me for those good choices.

Always remember whose child you are and that He loves you. When others despise or desert you, He will not. So, choose Him every time. A true friend will encourage you on the path to righteousness and it will be a blessing to have that kind of friend to share your journey. Please download our FREE booklet How to Build Godly Character, to help you on your journey.

Love, Mom xox