You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Good friends are hard to find and maintain. If you have one, be thankful. If you are still looking for one, ask the Lord. He will provide. But you need to be careful in choosing your friends. They will either help you in your journey through life or they will pull you down. How do you know what type of friend you have?
First of all, your friends will care for your success. They will root for you and support you through all situations (Proverbs 17:17). They will not forsake you or deliberately injure you (Proverbs 17:9). They will have your back. In fact, you may find a friend who is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
You will appreciate their counsel. (Proverbs 27:9). Their words may hurt you at times (Proverbs 27:6) but when truth is spoken in love, the mature understand and change.
The trap is placing your friends in the position of a god. By this, I mean you worship them. You rely on them to feed your ego and make you feel important in the eyes of others. Instead of serving them for the glory of God, you use them to feed your insecurities. They become the god who you rely on for your protection, provision, and fulfillment.
Most troubling is also when your friends are in bed with the world’s culture. As the above Scripture reminds us, accepting the worldly morals and values of society’s norms is surrounding yourselves with bedfellows whose purpose and gate opposes the God you want to serve. How long can you play with fire before your house is burnt to the ground?
As iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), so one person improves another. The more you spend time together with each other, the more you become like each other. If you believe killing babies within the womb is acceptable, than you will think nothing of hanging out with others who think like you do. If your moral standards accept lying to get what you want, than you have no problem associating with others who live out the same value.
However, if God’s Kingdom is the governmental format which puts order into your life, than you will find difficultly hanging out with others who oppose God’s way.
You will eventually find out you become an enemy in their eyes because they oppose the Triune God, and you do not. As the Scripture states, those who desire to be a friend of this world’s culture makes themselves an enemy of God.
The bottom-line: Choose your friends as careful as you choose the God you worship.
Rooting For You in Christ!
Dr. Mike
Encourager & Author of e-Books
- Stay Free…Avoid Worldly Traps
- Overflowing Prayers Rooted in Jesus Christ v1 & v2
- Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
- Great Business Emulates a Good God
- Be Radical…Follow Christ!
- Simply The Messenger
- Unequally Married
Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!
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