Devotion for Wednesday, November 30, 2011

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. Proverbs 1:10-19

One of the things that confused me when I was young was when people who claimed to be my friends would do things that made our friendship difficult. I had friends that every time I hung out with them I ended up doing something wrong and getting in trouble with my parents. I thought they were my friends, but really they were just using me to get what they wanted.

Proverbs warns us about people who try to get you to do wrong with them. I have found that when people do wrong things, they try to get others to do wrong with them. They don’t feel as bad or guilty when they aren’t the only ones doing wrong things. It’s almost like they think that God is ok with our sin if we sin in groups. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s how we think some times.

When people, who claim to be our friends, speak into our lives and their voices are pushing us to do wrong, at that moment they aren’t really being your friend. If they were your friend, they’d be looking out for your best interest. If there is a pattern of them trying to get you to do things that aren’t good for you, then they aren’t really your friend.

The author here gives great advice in that situation, “”My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path.” If that is the kind of relationship you have with them, it’s time to end the relationship.
Application
How does this apply to you today?