Companion Of Fools

He who walks with the wise grows wise,but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

Ladies, never underestimate the importance and power of personal influence. Therefore, women of God, make your choice of inner-circle, close friends very, very carefully.

The warning is, if your friends are foolish, willfully, consistently, unrepentantly foolish, it’s going to rub off on you and cause you trouble.

So what are some foolish patterns that close, even Christian friendships sometimes allow? Let me suggest two areas: compromise and criticize. When you’re with friends, do you ever give each other courage to compromise? What about that chick flick that was funny but trashy? What about books or magazines that you loan to each other or the way that you dress?

Number two: criticism. Do you allow yourselves to gripe to each other? Do you gripe about husbands, kids, family, friends, church, bad habits, bad friendship? Trust me: these things do add up and have bad results.

On the other hand, those who walk with the wise will become wise. Are there some godly women in your church? They might not have time to be buddies with you or disciple you, but if they’re in Bible study and prayer meetings, go be around godly women. If there’s an amazing Sunday school teacher, ask if she needs an assistant. Read Christian biographies. Even in print, wise and wonderful people can influence us with rich, wise insight.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Do you have an unhealthy friendship? What do you do—drop that friend? Do you tell her she is a bad influence? Hold on; before you say anything, will you take five days to faithfully pray for her? As you pray, the Lord might show you ways to redirect your relationship. The next step might be to honestly tell your friend that the Lord has convicted you about some of the things you do or have talked about. Then you can invite her to be your prayer partner to pray once a week. If she is a friend who was meant to be, the Lord will prepare her heart beforehand. Instead of losing a bad friend, you both might gain a wise and godly one.

One Year Bible Reading

Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 13:20-23