“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34a).
It’s been said that you are the average of your five closest friends. So take a second to think about those who are closest to you. Would your “average” be positive or negative?
You know, your friends have a profound impact on your life. Unfortunately, at times we encounter unsafe friends.
Author Hayley DiMarco describes them as: Overly defensive. Selfish. Gossipers. Revengeful. Flatterers. Religious but not spiritual. Always needing to look good and pointing out the flaws in others. They’re unforgiving. And usually, you feel worse after talking or being with them.
Sound familiar? Dear one, the Bible says bad company corrupts good character. It’s so important that you choose your friends wisely… surround yourself with positive people who love God and honor Him.
It will make a world of difference in your life!
Source
Hayley DiMarco’s “Mean Girls” series: http://www.meangirls.net
About the Author
This devotional was written by Vonette Bright. Read more about Vonette: http://www.talk.thelife.com/vonette/
Comment
Post your comments on the devotional blog: http://talk.thelife.com/
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Yes, I do think your most intimate friends should have the same heart character that you do.
It doesn’t mean we do not fellowship as in “to win to Christ,” but those in our everyday intimate fellowship should have the same values we do.
Injoy the devotionals.
Yes, I totally agree that our friends should be choosen wisely. I have had “unsafe friends” in the past and now I know to just keep those friends at a distance.and to pray for those friends!
It is important to have Christian friends also, because they can hold you accountable and will lift you up!
I am really enjoying this blog. God Bless!
I think we need to watch for balance in this area. We do need friends who are strong Christians, but we also need to be interacting with people in the world. A few years back I was spending quite a bit of time with some ladies who, because they were nonbelievers, lived an obvious sinful lifestyle. I found that I needed to make a point of spending time with my Christian friends to keep me strong spiritually. If I spent too much time with either group, I either lost my positive influence on those outside the church or I lost my spriritual strength. We should be praying that God will help us keep our priorities balanced in this as well as many other areas of our lives.
I currently have one of these friends from my church, and she is a Christian. She leaves me drained, constantly putting herself and others down, in need of attention, all stemming from an abusive childhood. She has felt betrayed by many friends and she is hurt. She knows she has a problem, and I do pray for her. I am trying to distance myself from her however. It’s like when you see someone that you want to help, but then you realize you can’t. Any suggestions on how to gently ween that ‘unsafe’ friend away?
Jesus had his disciples but who did he befriend?
Tricia-I too had a friend from church like you described. I prayed and gave her my all constantly…The Lord finally showed me that I was not to be her “God”! She should be taking these concerns and thoughts to him.
I tried many times to distance myself and talk to her about it-it opnly made things worse. I made a appointment with our pastor and had her come with me. We discussed our relationship and I got to set new bondries. We looked up scripture to reimforce these bondries. She continued on to others friends and had the same draining problems. She blamed me, others, the Pastor, the church and stayed away for awhile. She finally received councilling for childhood abuse, failed marraige, etc. I am happy to report she has returned back to church and to my knowledge has stopped this pattern of behavior.
I pray that our Heavenly Father will guide you in this difficult situation. God Bless you for being a friend in Christ.
Michelle