1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
“Friends are like elevator buttons they either take you up or take you down.”
I’ll never forget senior skip day. Beautiful day with the glorious weather when I and my buddies jumped into a jeep and traveled to Little River Canyon for the day! Fishing, swimming and hanging out were our agenda. Every friend was present and we were excited about the fun we were all about to embrace. After much swimming, a few people had this great idea to swim across the water to the other side! It looked like a challenge, but I knew how to swim so this was would be just that “just a challenge.” So out into the water, we go swimming across. I guess you never know how deep, how wide and how great that current is until you start swimming out in the deepest part. All of the sudden I began to feel weaker and weaker as I was swimming. My legs were giving out, my arms were growing weary and my mind went into panic mode. I WAS SINKING! At that moment my friends are all on the bank watching me as I’m gasping for air, struggling to stay above the current, and screaming out for help. One friend was still in the water with me, so she struggled over to me and grabbed my hand to help, but unfortunately, this friend only pulled me further down. She was intentionally trying to help me rise, but her weight pulled me under. So about that time my rescuer, a great teddy bear like friend jumped into the water and pulled me back to the bank. Wow oh wow my life flashed before my eyes. More than likely this all happened because I was in the midst of disobedience since I should have been in Spanish class instead, but I sure did learn more that day in that instant than probably all the teachers could have taught me that day.
Friends will either help you rise above the deep waters of life or they will weigh you down under and cause you to sink under the currents of society. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.
Many people consider finding good friendships something that you should do while in high school. That is very important, but I see something way more important than just during high school. I see finding a good friend, a confidant, an accountability partner, a prayer partner, a trustworthy person as something we all need in every stage of life no matter our age. Our friends really determine our futures. Will we sink or sail?
Friends can be disease carriers or destiny carriers! Read that statement again! You need to look at your friends through this lens just for a moment. Your negative thoughts could be from all the gossip you have surrounded yourself with at work or on the weekend. Your positive thoughts could be from all the encouragement and Bible studies you have encountered this week with the people in your world. What are your friends carrying?
We like to Clorox and germ-x the diseases and germs that filter in and out of our homes, works, schools, and environments. Why not take that same method to your friendships. Remove the viral things that keep repeating themselves. Gossip, slander, negativity, hurtful words, depressing thoughts, abuse, sharp tones, are not for you! Those things are diseases. They will destroy your life.
When looking for a new friend at work, at school, and at church look for a destiny carrier. Someone who is looking to sail! Someone who has a desire to better their future, someone who loves to encourage and mentor, someone who is trustworthy and you can be vulnerable with. This type of person is a friend who will encourage you to rise. They will take you up to a better level! This kind of person will encourage your relationship with God. They will pray with you and for you.
Maybe you are struggling to find that friend. Well, friend while your reading this my prayer is simple. Lord, please give opportunities while we are are going in and out of our work environments, schools and churches to find friends who are destiny carriers. Help us Lord to discern what kind of friend circles to be a part of. Give us friends at church that lead us in the ways of the Lord and are trustworthy.
Now here’s the challenge. If you are lonely and seem to have a hard time finding friends. Examine yourself. Are you a disease carrier or a destiny carrier? Are you taking your people up or down? If you are disappointed with your answer then go out and start being that friend to someone else that lifts up, encourages and strengthens someone. When you hear that negative whisper in your head, rebuke it. Be a Sailor! People are drowning all around you, rescue them with good friends and help them find their way!
Proverbs 12:26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
RVN 