Devotion for Tuesday, November 29, 2011
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20
When I was young I heard a preacher say, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” In many ways I have found that to be true. This proverb gives us some wisdom when it comes to friends. The word “walk” here convey’s the idea of spending time with or doing life with. People that are wise spend time with other wise people and learn from them. But the foolish person is un-discerning (is that a word) about the character and wisdom of the people that they let influence them.
The people you spend time with will influence you. Period.
We may have read and learned about this verse before, but I think it’s so important that we take this in and apply it to our lives.
You and I need wise voices speaking into our lives.
Application
What are some steps you can take to invite wise voices into your life?
Are there any friends that are acting foolish and are affecting you?
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
The steps you can take to invite wise voices Into your life is that you could be around people who are wise and do the right thing then they’ll rub off on you. There are friends that are acting foolish but there not affecting me 🙂
I totally agree Mafalda!! 🙂 great stuff!!!!! 🙂 thts true tht if u invite wise people into ur life tht how they act may be rubbed off on u and u can repeat the same process! 🙂
Maybe one step we can take is to stop and think, What do I want my future to look like? What kind of person do I want to be? Then ask, are we hanging around people who are headed in that direction?.
For example, if you want good grades, are you studying with people who take it seriously or with someone who is goofing around and doesn’t care. If you want to honor your parents, do you have friends who disrepect or lie to their parents or someone who is doing the right thing. Sometimes we have to step back and think about the direction we want for our lives..
Another thing we can do is to ask advice from people who are where we would like to be. If you want to be a teacher or go to a certain college or to be a strong Christian, seek advice from someone who is already doing it. You would be surprised how many people would be happy to help and advise a younger person but, have never been asked. Just ask God to help you find those wise voices.
I’ve definitely had friends before that have affected me for the bad, and for the good. Sometimes when it’s for the bad, you don’t realize it and you think it’s not a big deal, but it is! We’re only teenagers for a short time, but we’re going to be adults for the rest of our lives. And the decisions we make now could really affect who we are when we become adults. Ever since this past summer, I’ve really been trying to surround myself with wise people! I think our youth group is a HUGE part of that! What better people to surround myself with then people who are not only good influences, but also Godly people who can help me spiritually! I love how close our youth group has become! 🙂 So right now I don’t think there’s anyone in my life affecting the decisions I make in a bad way, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be ever again! & it’s a good thing to remember this verse for the future!
Alexis, what you’ve said is true of everyone, about the influence of friends, the brief time that your teen years are, but the blueprint for your adult life that these years can establish. You are making some good choices and setting a visible and positive example for your peers! Thank you for that and good job!
Thanks John, it means a lot 🙂
I think a hard thing to balance is when we are trying to influence others for the cause of Christ. It’s rare to lead someone to the Lord who you don’t already know and have some sort of a relationship with. I know I struggled with this a lot growing up because I wanted to share the gift of Christ with my friends at school but before I knew it I would be more influenced by them then they seem to have been by me. It’s a tough balance. Sometimes becoming really great friends with someone who is a Christian and can encourage you is a great way to help an unbeliever. I mean sometimes two people can be there to hold each other accountable and also to share the love with an unbeliever. We can be friends with these people, cause even Jesus was, but He never let their ways and beliefs effect Him into action. He just loved them and kept showing the Truth to them as they lived.
I definately think the people we are closest to and those we choose to date should be sold out born again believers but we can’t forget to befriend those who need the love of God because most of the time they come to know Him through some sort of a relationship/acquaintance.
Like I said before, it’s a hard balance but it’s one we have to be wise about and keep ourselves in check with what God would have for us. We know when we are doing wrong and we must remain sensitive to those situations.
like mafalda said,i think being around wise people would rub off on you.you would think wow they are really wise,i want to be like that! i’ve had people influence good and bad to me.for example take today for instance.in Social Studies we had to play a game about King Tut and stuff.since the people at my table were kinda off task i was like hey guys,lets play the game right.one of the girls was like allie stop being a GG and be wild.i was like no because i was thinking iv’e already been close to getting my tracking card marked(its like a card for behavior and academic things) so im not gonna be wild.other times people hv influenced me to do good and be who i am.im gonna stick with being who i am.sorry i wasn’t on yesterday guys.i was grounded from the computer 😦 hope you all had a great Tuesday and seeu guys tmrw night!!! 🙂 <33333
Who we let influence us is a really big deal even if you dont realize it. Friends can an uplifting thing that can help you or they can be something that can really get you on to the wrong path. So for me, one way that I can make a good descicion is evauluating and making sure I have friends that are going to be a good influence on me.
The statement above about those we hang out with will influence us, is so true! Unfortunatley I’ve experienced this a lot. Growing up I had a lot of insecurities and I let them get the best of me. I started listening to my friends, who weren’t good influences, and just became someone they wanted me to be. Thinking I would learn my lesson from that, I ended up letting another person influence me and went way downhill. I let others influence me for a long time, partly because I was insecure and just wanted people to like me. That got me real far, because to this day I’m not friends with any of them anymore, and all of them have kept on the same paths they were on and two even dropped out of high school. It’s so hard to not let friends, or even peers’ influence have a hold of you. God made us individuals. Not one of us are the same. There are some of us who look similar to others, have common interests, talents, etc, but God made us unique in our own ways. I spent too long wishing I was this and that or could do this or that, that I forgot to accept who God made me, and discover me! Our friends can have either a good influence on us or bad, and that’s why it’s so important to chose wisely when it comes to who you hang out with. We need to surround ourselves with godly people as well, because their influence and advice can help us, and in return help each other together in our walks with Christ, Megan made a great point about not discluding those who are unbelievers, because they need us to help guide them to the God and get on a path they need to be on. We do have to be careful of not getting wrapped up in things we shouldn’t, especially when we know it’s wrong and against what God would have us to do.
Learn from those who have shared experiences about letting others influence them to do wrong, don’t find out for yourself, cause trust me, It’s not fun.
Love you guys and see you tomorrow night! Great comments! Keep it up! ^^^^
There will always be people in my life that don’t influence me in the right way think.. I go to public school, I live in a town where most people are careless, and te voice of Satan never really goes away. But listening to the voices can be prevented! As of now, there isn’t really anyone affecting my judgement.. Except maybe myself. I look at myself pretty harshly, I never think I’m good enough. But I know in God’s eyes I am. So that’s all that matters 🙂 I think I can invite wise voices into my life by just being open to what others have to say. I’m usually like that but sometimes I just need to be more willing for advice!
*hey guys sorry I haven’t been on in a while but I am trying to keep up with you guys again!;)* but anyway what Mafalda and Alexis said are really good and speak right to me!:) But what I thought was that if you hang out with the unwise u will find yourself doing to small things at first but then those little things will suddenly turn into the BIG things like drugs etc… But I’m not saying that if u do start that , that will happen but Really nothing good comes out of it!:) so if you hang out with the wise people In your life they will help you along in your life! The people you hang out with are a HUGE influence on your life later when your an adult. Like Paster Ben said “Show me you friends and I’ll show you your future” man is that true! I’ve heard that so many times from alot of people. And being surrounded by a Christian family and going to church + youth group really helps keep you in te right track!:)