26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 12:26 NKJV
Careful Choosing vs. Philosophy of the World
Choosing our friends should be done carefully, the Bible tells us if we are to be righteous.
That thought is quite different from the philosophy of the current day.
How many friends do you have on Facebook? Do you have two or three thousand close friends listed? Or are you more inclined to be selective and have only three or four hundred? Some we think of as friends, when in fact, they are merely acquaintances from the briefest encounters.
Instead, in this Bible passage, we are told to choose our friends, our true friends, carefully.
Why would Solomon, inspired by God to write Proverbs caution us to choose friends carefully?
Friends of the World
We all know inherently that there is much evil out there and many people who embrace the ways of evil living. It is no secret. It is something we see and observe very early on. We see corrupt actions and cruel doings even as little children. We see others snatch and cheat and grab to win the game and get the prize. Sometimes a child will simply take the desired item from another’s hand and run.
The aging of that child only avails him to more opportunities to meet, mingle and befriend others.
The Lure of Popularity
Good, we think. He will be popular and have a lot of friends, surrounded by social life and invitations to entertaining things.
Lets’s hold up a bit and think this through.
We are taught very young to be sociable. We clap for the toddler who shares long before they are age-inclined to seek out friends. Selfishness comes easily to us all it seems. Adam in us manifests.
Who Will We Keep Around Us?
Do we want to surround ourselves by choice with those who are not following the ways of God and who are living for themselves and not for Him?
What kind of life will we be living if we follow the ways of sin around us and turn from the instruction of God, our Father and Creator?
Choosing To Go Astray
Clearly, such a life of following sin and those who embrace it will lead us to go astray.
We know that the end of sin is death. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Following those in sin will bring us into sin and the committing of it ourselves in greater abandon.
Choose Goodness and Righteousness
Choosing friends wisely is key.
Choosing Jesus Christ as the Savior of your soul and having Him as your best friend is life-changing.
Making friends with those other believers and followers of Jesus will give you friends with the same mindset and similar values.
Godly Friends
There will be no arguments about what to do and view and where to go when you both want to see and do things that are pleasing to God.
You seek activities that are God-honoring and mission work that shares Jesus and helps the needy.
When friends gather, you view movies that are wholesome and listen to music that is conservative. Furthermore, the books you read will be pure and give your mind nourishing spiritual food.
In addition, you will comfortably enjoy your church activities with these like-minded friends because you know that they are truly enjoying them as much as you are.
You didn’t have to convince them to come or hope they are not too unhappy about it.
There will be no dreading the conversation to come on the way home. No anticipation of the unpleasant comments they will make.
Choose Friends that Love the Lord
You are choosing friends that love the Lord as you do when you choose friends wisely.
You will have a sense of unity that simply doesn’t exist in the friendships of worldly people.
Witnessing to All for the Lord
This is not to say that we are not to submerse ourselves into the community in which we find ourselves or into the office or school. It is in those settings that we are to be a witness for the Lord and be kind and friendly. This is part of our work in missions and in sharing Christ.
One can be friendly and should be to be an effective witness.
Jesus was the perfect example of putting Oneself in the midst of the crowd and sharing Love.
We are, however, to be careful and choose wisely about those that we hold closest to ourselves and those we want to emulate.
Don’t Be Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers
Those that we date and marry must be those who love the Lord.
Paul cautions us further not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV we read, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? Do not come into close association with unbelievers…”
This doesn’t mean we are not to witness to all, but we are to date and marry only those who share our love and faith in the Lord. A lifetime of misery awaits the one who ties himself to an unbeliever. This will happen because an unbeliever will love the things of the world and not the things of God.
Therefore, choosing friends wisely is truly excellent advice.