You will become like your friends therefore the most important decisions that you make in life after choosing the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior is who will be your friends. Choose good friends and you life will be blessed. Choose bad friends and your life will be filled with grief. This is one of the most profound choices that you will make in life. The companions with whom you walk through life will influence your other decisions.
Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Choose only to be with wise men and run from fools. A fool is someone who lives as if there is no God. They may even say that they believe in God but if they are living as if there is no God then they are living like a fool. Run from them.
Psalms 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
All of us came into the world with a foolish heart. We must turn away from our foolish ways and turn to the Lord with all of our heart. Don’t look at what a person says but at what they do. It is by their deeds that people distinguish themselves.
Proverbs 20:11 It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself
If his conduct is pure and right.
In the same way, the kind of friends that you attract will be the kind of people whom you are attracted to. Is your life pure and right? It is not only by their deeds that a person distinguishes himself but also by his type of speech.
Proverbs 22:11 He who loves purity of heart
And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.
Choose only friends who desire a pure heart. Those who want their heart to be pure will be discerning about where their eyes go and what their ears hear. What goes into the heart of a man is what comes out of him and what comes out through his mouth is what defiles him.
Mark 7:20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
It is those who have a pure heart who will see Jesus.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Our greatest need in life is to see God for all that we do in life is a response to our view of God. If our view is right then our conduct will be upright. If our view of God is twisted then we will be crooked in our ways. If we choose friends who do not know God or do not see Him then they will lead us astray and we will forget our God.
I Corinthians 15:33 Do not let anyone fool you. Bad people can make those who want to live good become bad.
Choose good friends and choose to be a good friend to others. Friendship means speaking the truth in love.
Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
If your friends are good then they will point you to Jesus and help you stay on the right path. Sometimes they might tell you what you don’t want to hear but it is much better than to have friends who will always tell you what you “want” to hear. Our hearts are deceitful so we need others in our lives who will help us in our times of weakness and temptation. The temptations will pass and the blessings will follow if we are faithful.
Proverbs 27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
Instructions To A Young Life 