Proverbs 12:26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
When we become believers we become new. We make the choice to let go of the old as we embrace our new life in Christ. But what do we do about those friends you had before you accepted Christ? Do you abandon them and find new friends?
The Bible is clear that there are two types of people- those who follow God and those who follow the world. And we face temptation that the enemy hopes to use to pull you down. In today’s verse we see that we are told to choose our friends wisely because we can easily be led astray by those who follow the world. And it is not just in today’s verse that we see this. There are many other examples of our relationships with nonbelievers, worldly people, evil doers, etc.
In 1 Corinthians 15:33 we see that bad company can corrupt us. We see that unbelievers are slaves to sin (John 8:34) while Christians are slaves to God (1 Corinthians 7:22). By maintaining old relationships and friendships with people who are not living godly lives we open ourselves up to struggle and temptation.
And while you should not give up on those friends from before in possibly being saved, you need to focus on your relationship with God and let your life be a testimony of His grace. You can pray for them, invite them to church, share what God is doing in your life, and so on without hanging out and being open to temptation.
Are you choosing the right friends or are you associating with those who might lead you astray? Take time today to evaluate the friends in your life and then choose wisely what you should do.
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