Monday, February 13, 2012

Walking With The Wise

"Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walk with fools will suffer harm." Proverbs 13:20

Have you ever stepped back to evaluate with whom you spend the most time? According to this scripture, that should be a pretty serious consideration in our lives.

First of all, aside from spouses, who are your friends? Really. There are casual acquaintances and there are true friends. As believers (and women) we will likely have many acquaintances; people at work, people we see when dropping the kids off at sports, gymnastics, people at the grocery store, etc... Those are the people in this world that we come in contact with everyday. Hopefully, they are feeling Jesus from us as we rub shoulders with them. But who are your real friends - the ones you share deeper cares, concerns and fears? Maybe even more importantly, the ones that offer you advice? Who are they? Does it really matter? It should.

This scripture tells us that we become like the people we choose to walk with. Look at the word "walk". Now to walk with someone, a couple of things need to be happening. First, you have to be in step with that person - your pace has to be about the same. Otherwise, you won't be together very long. Secondly, you have to be headed toward the same destination. You can't walk with someone who is heading in a different direction than you are. If you attempt to do that, one of you will be forced to change directions. Amos 3:3 says, "Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? Hmmm....

Ladies, now more than ever we need godly friends. Let's stop here and remind ourselves that not all christian friends are necessarily godly friends. A believer away from the Lord can often be a very dangerous friend to have around. Because her heart has wandered away from the Lord Jesus, she will naturally pull you along with her if you allow it. Don't. If we commit ourselves to choosing godly christian friends who encourage us and offer godly advice, we are richly blessed. These are the "I love you enough to get in your face when you're headed in the wrong direction kid of friends."

Who are you walking with?