Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals. (ESV)
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. (KJV)
Any relationship you enter into as a person and most especially, as a believer, has to have a purpose. Otherwise it will be fruitless. In my view, a relationship, be it romantic, friendly, family etc is meant to grow you. If you aren’t growing, then analyze what’s going on there. Most times we forget that our relationships with others can either take us to heaven or to hell.
For example, when I was younger, before I fully came to Christ, I used to have this friend that I visited. Whenever I visited her, I would always tell the most elaborate, made up stories to her as a way of impressing her. I just couldn’t stop lying in her presence. As I grew older and noted that, I stepped away from her because once you lie, you have to keep lying to maintain the original lie. It’s a whole job! That relationship is an example of someone who wasn’t exactly leading me to hell because I was the one who chose to lie, but she was facilitating it.
It might be that boyfriend who makes you sleep with him, or that friend who always suggests you go drinking or your favorite cousin who wants you to lie on her behalf to her mom. Either way, the person makes you do things that aren’t convenient for you. You have to cut them off to save yourself. Remember:
Mark 9:43 (and if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to the unquenchable fire).
The company you keep determines who keeps you company. That is, God won’t keep you company once you start chumming around with the devil and his cohorts. God is a God of order.
A few weeks ago, it was the birthday of a young lady I knew from church. I mention it because this young lady had passed on a year ago. She had passed a week after her birthday, to be precise. Whenever I think of her story, I am reminded of the seriousness of 1 Corinthians 15:33. It seems kind of simple really.
“What does it matter if I have friends who aren’t saved? I’m not doing what they are doing.”
That’s what many of us think. In actual fact, when we consider the statistics, it seems illogical to expect someone to only have friends that are saved. Some might even argue that it means we are only mingling with Christians if we don’t have friends that are still in the world, therefore it might hinder spreading the gospel.
I go back to my earlier statement that it seems illogical to expect someone to only have saved friends. It only seems illogical, but it really isn’t.
Let’s define what a friend is, before we go further.
The dictionary on my Search Engine defines a friend as “a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.”
In my opinion, a friend is someone who you care about deeply, who you generally spend a lot of time with, someone whose opinions matter to you and who you hold in high regard. I’m talking personally here. Some might just see a friend as anyone you’ve known longer than 3 hours.
So now, let’s define what it means to be saved. Now, this is probably a whole lot more complex but at the same time it really isn’t. Being saved is when a person has accepted and confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and saviour, and they have forsaken sin and are living under God’s special grace.
Proverbs 28:13 (He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.)
NOTE: When I say, forsaking sin, I don’t mean complete sinlessness. In all honesty, we are not sinless creatures. Being saved is that state of trying to attain God’s holiness and perfection with the help of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:16 (But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy.)
Acknowledging your sins and repenting, that is forsaking sin. But sinning without conscience and care, that is an issue.
It is much better to have friends who are saved because you can grow together in Christ and you can encourage each other in times of need. When you now have friends that are still very happy in the world, it becomes a burden explaining why you have to fast, explaining why your solution is in the Word of God and not on Google, things you do just seem “weird” and we can’t blame them. The god of this world has blinded their minds.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.)
I don’t mean we should say; “You’re not saved, goodbye. Our conversation ends here.”
No. I mean spending an extended period of time with a person who isn’t saved because you enjoy their company and not because you want their soul saved. Your conversations don’t even touch on Jesus. That’s dangerous. Do you really need a friendship where you can’t talk about the most important thing to you? Isn’t that pretence?
The girl I mentioned earlier, she passed away as a result of bad choice in friendship. A lady she befriended led her down the wide path that leads to hell. It was such an unnecessary death for a vibrant young woman of impact who had helped bring a large number of people to Christ, from her township.
What we have to always remember is that the devil is who we fight against.
Ephesians 6:12 (We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.)
The devil will send someone your way who seems like a great choice for a friend. But they are actually meant for your downfall and eventual death so you can join him (the devil) in hell. Always remember that the same way Jesus is fighting for us to be saved, is the same way the devil is fighting so that we are not. But he won’t succeed because he’s already been destroyed.
Revelations 12:11 (And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.)
I have friends who are saved and we have fun together while still serving God. We grow together, we love each other and we encourage each other. That’s what true friendship is.
Some people might not even cause you to sin, the devil just uses them to distract you from fulfilling destiny. As in the case of Abraham and Lot. God didn’t show Abraham his true destiny until AFTER Lot had left him.
I’ll talk more on that in another post. Keep your eyes peeled.
Meanwhile, make sure you pray today and read your Bible.
I love you with all sisterly Love.
– Lerato
SomeYoungChristianQueen