Choose Your Friends Wisely

A person’s friends can reveal a lot about him. By associating with good people, a person becomes better; by associating with bad people, a person might get into trouble. It is always a struggle to see who has more influence: a person, or his friends.

The wise man wrote, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed (Proverbs 13:20).” He tells us that it is easier for others to influence us, rather than us to influence them. By associating ourselves with God’s people, we can be influenced for good and set better examples for the world. On the other hand, if we closely associate ourselves with those who do not live the kinds of lives that Christ would approve of, we can easily become corrupt.

The apostle Paul acknowledged, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33).’” Earlier, he told the Corinthians and Galatians, “…Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9)?” Just as others can influence us for evil, we should try to influence others for good!

Let us pick good friends, and be a good friend to others. Perhaps by doing something good, we can lead lost souls to Christ. Is He your friend? After all, we are friends of Christ if we do whatever He commands us (John 15:14).