Good Friends, Bad Friends

Proverbs 1:10-16 My son, those who love to do wrong will try to trick you. Don't listen to them. They will say, "Come with us. Let's hide and beat to death anyone who happens to walk by. We will swallow them whole, as the grave swallows the dying. We will take everything they have and fill our houses with stolen goods. So join us, and you can share everything we get." My son, don't follow them. Don't even take the first step along that path. They run to do something evil, and they cannot wait to kill someone. You cannot trap birds with a net if they see you spreading it out. But evil people cannot see the trap they set for themselves. This is what happens to those who are greedy. Whatever they get destroys them.

It turns out that the company we keep, the friends we make, the people whom we allow to influence us, have a huge bearing, not just on how we feel about ourselves, but on the whole direction that our lives will take.

When I was young, I remember my mother saying to me over and over again – “don’t get in with the wrong crowd”. Well, you know the teenager’s response to that! I just rolled my eyes into the back of my head. “What could she possibly know?!”

But that’s exactly what King Solomon, one of the wisest men ever to walk the planet, said to his sons:

Proverbs 1:10-16 My son, those who love to do wrong will try to trick you. Don’t listen to them. They will say, “Come with us. Let’s hide and beat to death anyone who happens to walk by. We will swallow them whole, as the grave swallows the dying. We will take everything they have and fill our houses with stolen goods. So join us, and you can share everything we get.” My son, don’t follow them. Don’t even take the first step along that path. They run to do something evil, and they cannot wait to kill someone. You cannot trap birds with a net if they see you spreading it out. But evil people cannot see the trap they set for themselves. This is what happens to those who are greedy. Whatever they get destroys them.

In other words, 
 don’t get in with the wrong crowd.

The point is that hanging out with the wrong crowd will lead us in the wrong direction and that – that’s going to cause us a lot of pain.

Maybe my mother knew what she was talking about after all!

Not all friends are alike. There are good friends and bad friends. Don’t hang out with the wrong crowd.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh 
 for you 
 today.

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Berni Dymet

Joanne, it sounds to me like you need to find a church that’s alive, where God’s Word is taught and proclaimed, and ...

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Joanne, it sounds to me like you need to find a church that’s alive, where God’s Word is taught and proclaimed, and where you’re surrounded by passionate Cheist followers. We’re definitely praying with you.



Joanne Wilson

I am a new Christian and have been for a few years now, been baptised and pray and read the Word everyday but still ...

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I am a new Christian and have been for a few years now, been baptised and pray and read the Word everyday but still struggle to live the godly way. I struggle to talk about my faith especially to family and I don’t have many Christian friends.I go to a small church in my town with my 2 grandchildren ages 5 and 8. But I feel discouraged for them as they are the only 2 kids here at our church. I feel like I am struggling to keep the faith and feel like a burden. Please help. Any prayer will do right now! thank you!