“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” —Proverbs 12:26 When I read this proverb I am reminded of another proverb, well maybe an urban proverb, something I use to hear in
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” —Proverbs 12:26
When I read this proverb I am reminded of another proverb, well maybe an urban proverb, something I use to hear in New York that went: “It’s hard to soar with Eagles, when you’re running with Turkeys.” The question we must ask ourselves is: Who do we call friends and who do we hang out with? If we are trying to improve in our life or trying to overcome old ways and bad habits, we must consider who we are spending our time with and who we are calling friends. Someone once told me that you can count your “real” friends on one hand, the rest are really “acquaintances.” True friends truly care about you and your well being. The people we consider friends, that we have developed personal relationships with and spend most our time with, should be people who are building us up and encouraging us on to better things in life. We also should be doing the same for them. As a young boy, I remember getting in trouble on a few occasions and explaining to my mom: But Mom, everyone was doing it! In return I got the stock answer all moms gave: If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you do it? Back then I probably would, but as I got older and bridges got higher in life, I saw the wisdom in her words. Some friends want you to jump with them and call it a sign of friendship, others want to push you off and call it the same, but a true friend will just ask you walk across the bridge to better places with them. Who are your friends? Choose carefully because it does make a difference and remember; God also is our friend and He too wants to walk with us to better places. Aloha, Pastor Tom
