"A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." (Pro. 18:24)
If you do not have friends, you have no one to blame but yourself. The verse in Proverbs is clear as can be. Friends can either be an asset or a liability. Someone said, you are who your friends are. I believe that to be true. Selecting friends is a very important choice especially in light of some verses in Proverbs:
"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." (Pro. 13:20)
"Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father." (Pro. 28:7)
The pendulum swings both ways. In one extreme some Christians avoid total contact with 'the world,' they protect themselves from 'worldly influences' therefore they do not have any associations with the 'outside' 'world.' They believe themselves to be 'separatists' when they should label themselves 'isolationists.' The other extreme is a total lack of discernment, it is a level of compromise. We don't want either extremes, rather we want to guard our friendship choices well. Friendships have differing levels, but my concern is with close friends, or even companions. We must choose our companions carefully because of the influence they exert over us. Proverbs puts it this way:
"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." (Pro. 1:8)
If you do not have friends, you have no one to blame but yourself. The verse in Proverbs is clear as can be. Friends can either be an asset or a liability. Someone said, you are who your friends are. I believe that to be true. Selecting friends is a very important choice especially in light of some verses in Proverbs:
"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." (Pro. 13:20)
"Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father." (Pro. 28:7)
The pendulum swings both ways. In one extreme some Christians avoid total contact with 'the world,' they protect themselves from 'worldly influences' therefore they do not have any associations with the 'outside' 'world.' They believe themselves to be 'separatists' when they should label themselves 'isolationists.' The other extreme is a total lack of discernment, it is a level of compromise. We don't want either extremes, rather we want to guard our friendship choices well. Friendships have differing levels, but my concern is with close friends, or even companions. We must choose our companions carefully because of the influence they exert over us. Proverbs puts it this way:
"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." (Pro. 1:8)
We must be careful about choosing friends.
1 comment:
Thanks for your comments, the skunk one made me laugh. I have been a little under the weather lately, but looking forward to adding other 'Proverb themes' in this series.
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