Sisters!
Friends and associates are great to have, but you need to be very particular with your selection. The people that you call friends or associates will influence your values, your character and your mind set. I’m sure that most of you have heard the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” In other words, you to tend to behave like those you run with.
If you run with a gossip, you’ll gossip. You’ll find yourself saying unfavorable things about people, things that you don’t even know to be true. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Girl have you heard the latest?” “Girl you’d better sit down before you fall down when I tell you this.” Somebody said that somebody said. It may be a lie, it may be true, but it’s still gossip. Sometimes when you gossip you’re telling the truth, but some truth should not be broadcasted.
Run with a liar and you’ll start lying. Sometimes it’s so much easier to lie than to tell the truth. At first lying may seem hard. Your voice may tremble a bit. You may feel nervous. You may not be able to make eye contact while lying. But after a while, you’ll find that you can lie with ease. My mom always said “practice makes perfect”. She wasn’t talking about lying, but it applies to lying too. You may even pride yourself on how believable your lies are to others, but God is not pleased. “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:9
Run with someone with an ungodly character and you’ll see the evidence of that in your life too. You’ll find yourself doing things that are unbecoming to a Christian. They’ll tell you “There’s no harm in it.” We do it and we’re Christians”. After a while you’ll be doing things you never thought you’d do, just to keep up with your friends, and associates. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,” Psalm 1:1
Do you see the point I’m making? You tend to be like whoever you run with. Just as you can pick up negative traits from people, you can pick up positive traits from people. Hang with people that love God and are striving for perfection in their lives. Run with people of faith, who trust in God. Associate with people who love to read and study the Word of God. Find yourself in the company of those who have discovered how to enjoy life to the fullest, without pursuing sin. A wise man once told me that if you “run with the wise, you’ll be wise” and he was absolutely right.
You’re going to have friends and associates in this life. My advice to you is…be careful to choose wisely. WATCH YOUR ASSOCIATES!
