Choose Your Friends Wisely
Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Proverbs 13:20 (New Living Translation, NLT)
It has been said that we become like the people with whom we associate. If we wish to be wise, then we must be around wise people. If we want to be successful, we must place ourselves amongst successful people. We must be careful about the people we hang out with. No matter what we may think, the habits and attitudes of the people around us will affect us. And this is especially important about the spiritual level of those we are around. It is imperative to be friends with people who believe like you do and have a similar level of knowledge of the Word as you do.
Do not be unequally bound together with unbelievers [do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? II Corinthians 6:14 (Amplified Bible, AMP)
First of all, believers should choose other believers as their friends. If we do not do this, the unbelievers will lead us astray and into sin, much like the Israelites were led astray by the nations around them. Unsaved people do not understand the things of God, and this will create pressure on us to do things we should not do. It is true that we should not totally isolate ourselves from the world, because we must be salt and light to them and show them the way to salvation. However, the unbeliever is someone we should witness to and try to influence and help, but not someone we call a close friend. We also should be equally yoked together with those who are believers. By this I mean that we should be friends with people with whom we are equally matched in knowledge of the Bible and the things of God. This gives us opportunities to discuss the Scriptures and help each other grow and mature in the Lord. If we are always around those who are new in the faith, we will continually be bringing them up and helping them grow, but our growth will be minimal. Yes, we need to mentor and disciple new believers, but more so we must surround ourselves with friends who are as mature as we are in the faith- if not more mature.
Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character. I Corinthians 15:33 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC)
As a means of self-protection and to ensure we will grow in God, we must choose our friends wisely. If you cannot find anyone appropriate to have as a friend, ask God to bring someone to you. And while you are waiting for that new friend to cross your path, know that it is better to have God as your only friend rather than be with wrong people who will lead you down the wrong paths.
