Choose Carefully

Proverbs 20:⁶ “Most people will tell you what loyal friends they are, but are they telling the truth?” (LB)

Over the next few days, we are going to experience relational metamorphosis. The truth is that the greatest joy you will feel and experience in life will come through people. At the same time, the greatest pain you will feel and experience in life will come through people. The height of your joy and the height of your pains will be caused by people. And when we look at our relationships, particularly our friends, we have two main categories of friends. The first category is the causal friends, and the second category is the intentional friends (the close friends). Of the casual friendships, we just happen on each other. We can have conversations together but when we do not, it is fine. However, we are intentional about our close friends.

We choose our close friends. Therefore, in this season, God will impact us with light in choosing and strengthening our close friends because the wiser the choice the better the friendship. And the Word of God puts the burden of choosing the right friends on us. Proverbs 27:¹⁹ “A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.” (LB). In other words, what you are really like is shown by the kind of friends you choose. Growing up, our parents used to say to us, show me your friends and I tell you who you are. The friends that you choose to hang out with, do life with, go out with, tell us the kind of person you really are.

In other words, the kind of person you will eventually be, will be determined by the kind of friends that you currently have. You are the average of the three people you spend the most time with. You are the average of your three closest friends. The Word of God is clear in Proverbs 12:²⁶ “The righteous choose their friends carefully…” (NIV). The righteous are not haphazard about the process of choosing friends. They choose their friends carefully. The New King James Version of the Bible puts it this way, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully…”. So, you have to choose your friends carefully.

To help us, we will look into God’s Word to see the kind of people we should not have as close friends. There are five kinds of people that we should not have as close friends. It is advice from God’s Word; avoid having lazy people, angry people, immoral people, stingy people, and unbelieving people as your close friends. We will delve deeper tomorrow by God’s grace.

Prayer: Father, please cause me to experience relational metamorphosis and impact me with the light I need to choose and strengthen my close friends, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!