Choose Friends Wisely
For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile
and their foolish hearts were darkened. – Romans 1:21
Who are your friends? Are they drawing you toward God
or are they pulling you away? That’s the question our pastor asked last Sunday
and it’s something that has really been on my heart this week.
There are obvious people we should avoid. They are those
who abuse alcohol or drugs, those who are abusers or thieves. Those who use
foul language and bully those around them. We can certainly be kind and witness
to them but, really, we must be careful not to let them draw us into their
world. We know that.
But what about the others? What about the Christians
who go to church on Sunday – when it’s convenient – then do as they please the
rest of the week? What about the Christians who say a quick prayer every
morning and that is the extent of their focus on God? What about those who are
active in church but have hard hearts toward the poor, the immigrant, those
with a past. (And don’t we all have a past?)
It is those pseudo Christians who can cause us the
most harm. They go through the motions. Maybe they really are saved but they
live their lives on their own terms rather than God’s. Without our even being
aware of it, they pull us away from Him. They encourage us to be lazy in our
time with God. They tell us through their actions that we don’t have to put God
first. Except we do.
Who are your friends? Look around you at the people
you spend the most time with. Are they drawing you toward a deeper relationship
with Christ or are they showing you how to make excuses and linger in a shallow
faith? If they aren’t pulling you toward Jesus, then maybe you should find
friends that do.
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