Proverbs 13:20 - Are Your Friends Led by the Word or the World?
Proverbs 13:20 (ESV) Whoever walks with the
wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools
will suffer harm.
Proverbs 13:20 (MSG) Become wise by walking
with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your
life fall to pieces.
COMMENTARY PEARL
One of the things that causes people to
miss Gods plan is peer pressure. Most of us
know what that was like as a kid or teenager, but
that pressure actually continues into adulthood.
Theres plenty of bad advice floating around out
there, and too often we feel pressured to follow
it.
Proverbs 13:20 says, Wise friends make
you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around
with fools (CEV). You cant soar with the
eagles if youre running with the turkeys, so
choose your friends wisely. If you keep company
with wise friends, youre going to become
wise.
We all worry about air pollution and
water pollution. Have you ever worried about mind
pollution? If you want to follow Gods direction,
make sure your advice is from the right source.
The Bible says in 1 John 3:7, Do not
let anyone lead you the wrong way! Christ is
righteous. So to be like Christ a person must do what
is right (NCV).
The difference in a thermometer and a
thermostat is that a thermometer reflects the
temperature of the environment and a thermostat sets the
temperature of the environment. Every day, youre
faced with a decision: Are you going to be a
thermostat or a thermometer? [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
Wisdom Walk
With whom do you walk (figuratively or
literally) through life who offers you wisdom? Do you
walk with your father or father-in-law, or mother
or mother-in-law? When you walk with them are
you slow to speak and quick to listen? Indeed,
wisdom comes to those who listen more and talk
less. Wisdom is a product of the people who pour
into you.
Your wisdom walk may be over the phone
with a mentor who lives in another city or a
neighbor across the street who, by Gods grace, has
already raised God-fearing children. Look around you
and learn from those wise ones the Lord has
placed in your life. Pray for a Paul who can
be your spiritual instructor. Timothy, my
son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He
will remind you of my way of life in Christ
Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in
every church (1 Corinthians 4:17).
No one is ever too old or too wise to
need a regular wisdom walk. Perhaps you take the
time to walk with your spouse after dinner or a
co-worker during the lunch hour. Vacations are ideal
to walk with a wise family member. Walk while
the brilliant sun arises or a majestic sunset
kisses the horizon. A wisdom walk allows your soul
to catch up with the hectic pace of your body.
Indeed, walk with the wise, and you will grow wise.
Talk about topics that are relevant to
your season of life. Maybe it is insight into
parenting a teenager, financial management, decision
making, how to love and respect your spouse, books
to read, or devotion to Christ. Ask your wise
walkers what mistakes they made and how you can
learn from them. Listen to their ideas, process
them in prayer, and apply them to your life.
Otherwise, unused wisdom becomes fodder for
foolishness!
Above all, have wisdom walks with
almighty God. Unlike Adam and Eve, learn to live in
the intimacy of the moment with your heavenly
Father (Genesis 3:8). Walk with Jesus, and you will
become much the wiser. Keep Christ your closest
companion. [Wisdom Hunters Devotional]
The Barbershop
When I was a teenager, my dad would say,
"If you hang out in a barbershop long enough,
you're going to get a haircut." He knew my friends
were doing things they shouldn't, and the
implication was that if I kept hanging out with them,
I'd end up doing them too. The only thing worse
than the saying was the fact that it was true. Of
course I gave in to peer pressure. Okay, so it
didn't take much pressure for me to give in. But
that's me.
We tend to think that peer pressure is
something only teenagers face. That would be nice, but
it simply isn't true. There are people in each
of our lives who aren't thrilled about our
desire to seek recovery - people we used to hang
out with, people who don't like that we've
changed because it makes them wonder if they should
change, people who used to enable us by keeping our
secrets or turning a blind eye to the fact that we
have a problem.
When these people turn on the pressure
for us to relapse or pretend everything is just
fine when we know it isn't, we're going to need a
way to stay strong. God is the One - the only
One - who can keep us from compromising. He is
our strength, our fortitude, our safe place.
Father God, protect me and help me out of
the traps that compromise brings. Teach me to
love all the people in my life without letting
them lead me back into the darkness. In Jesus'
name, Amen. [Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional
by John & Johnny Baker re Psalm 31:3-4]
ILLUSTRATIONS
My mom used to share with me tons of
motherly wisdom. When our team lost a ball game and I
was feeling disappointed, she might say, "It
doesn't matter if you win or lose; it's how you play
the game." Or if I got frustrated because I
couldn't follow the directions for assembling a model
plane: "You can do anything you set your mind
to.
But the clincher, the one she told me
most often, dealt directly with my friends: "You
are who you run with. Sometimes I wasn't sure
if she was approving of my buddies or
encouraging me to find better replacements. She probably
wasn't sure either. What became clear, though, was
the truth in her wisdom.
It's almost impossible to live the right
life when you have the wrong friends.
Whether you're a kid, a tween, a
teenager, a young adult, or middle-aged, you will
become like your closest friends. Count on it. When
we connect with another person, we become a
conduit for their values, beliefs, and decisions.
This isn't just from my mom - the Bible states
this truth repeatedly. If you stick close to
people who are wise, you'll become wiser. If you
hang out with people who are godly, you're likely
going to grow closer to God. If you become close
friends with people who make good decisions, chances
are you'll make better decisions too.
Today run with people who love God as
much or more than you do.
Jesus, give me wisdom about who I choose
to spend my time with and how and when to trust
them. Bring me friends who make me more like you
and empower me to be a blessing to them. [Daily
Power by Craig Groeschel]
Years ago I made friends with a guy at my
gym named Bart who has helped me change my body
physically in more ways than I can count. I had worked
out for most of my life, exercising faithfully
for more than twenty years. But I also ate
whatever I wanted. And by whatever, I mean anything
with sugar or salt (and especially sugar and
salt): donuts, cinnamon rolls, cake, ice cream, and
chips and whatever was within reach that I could
dip them in.
But I was one friend away from changing
my "physical future. I noticed that Bait
didn't work out much harder than I did, but he
looked very different from me. He was ripped! I
always attributed that to genetics, but Bait helped
me see that diet is actually more important
than exercise. Little by little, he helped me
make small changes. First I added protein. Then I
cut carbs. Then I added vitamins. Then I cut
down on desserts. And together we tweaked my
workouts. Over time, I became stronger and leaner, and
I felt better. But more important, I was
healthy, probably healthier than I'd ever been.
One friend.
Too many changes to count.
Do you have a few friends that make you
better, people who see your potential? Think about
it. Do your buddies at the gym make you better?
Or do the friends in your support group help
you grow? Do the people you work with make you
sharper? Do the moms you run with make you stronger?
If not, decide to connect with someone
new - someone who makes you better.
Lead me to the right person, Lord, who
can help motivate, inspire, and propel me
forward. Help me to be that person in someone else's
life. [Daily Power by Craig Groeschel re Proverbs
19:20]
Someone said, "Show me your friends and
you'll show me your future." This important truth
draws on biblical wisdom, and I'm sure you've seen
it in your life too. From past adventures I've
shared in previous entries, you'll recall that
friends of mine like Steven (his dad had the
Playboys) and Stan (my accomplice in the debacle known
as The Great Running Shorts Heist) weren't
doing me any favors. And believe me, there were
numerous others, such as frat brothers and tennis
teammates from college, who weren't concerned in the
least about my relationship with God.
Today, though, one concern about our
friendships is summed up by a recent conversation I had
with a college-aged woman from our church. She
said, "I have over 700 Facebook friends, over 500
people who regularly check my daily pics on
Instagram, and almost 1,000 who follow me on Twitter.
And yet I don't have anyone to grab coffee or go
shopping with me. Despite how many people I know
online, I'm, well, really lonely."
From my experience, when I'm lonely, I'm
more susceptible to temptation. For example, I'm
more likely to feel sorry for myself and justify
eating donuts and not working out. But I don't
always realize that's what I'm feeling until it's
too late. After all, with all this constant
connectivity, how could I be lonely?
Show me your friends - your real friends,
not just virtual - and you'll show me your
future.
Lord, I do feel lonely sometimes and know
that I need to build deeper friendships with
people who love and seek you as much as I do. Today
point me toward someone I can befriend. [Daily
Power by Craig Groeschel]
CLOSING THOUGHT
The Company We Keep
Abraham is uniquely introduced to us in
Scripture as the friend of God. One day God told His
friend Abraham that He wanted him to leave his life
of paganism and worship of false gods, leave
his family, pack his bags, and go. God
effectively said, I want you and your wife, Sarah, to
go to a certain place. You dont even know
where it is. Ill reveal that to you later. But
I want you to go.
Abraham obeyed - sort of. He did leave,
which was a big step. And he did leave his family,
which was a bigger step. But he took one family
member along with him: his nephew Lot, who had a
detrimental effect on his uncle.
We all know certain people who build us
up spiritually when were around them. We
come away feeling closer to the Lord and built up
in our faith. But we also know people who pull
us down spiritually when were around them.
Lot was the kind of person who pulled Abraham
down.
As 2 Timothy 2:22 says, Flee also
youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith,
love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of
a pure heart (NKJV).
Ive had the opportunity to meet and
get to know a lot of wonderful, godly men and
women who have impressed me deeply. And then
Ive known other Christians who are always ticked
off about something. Theyre always mad at
someone. They remind me of Don Quixote, tilting at
windmills. They must always have an adversary or a
nemesis. I get very weary of that.
What about you? What kind of influence
are you having on others? Are you a godly
influence, or are you an ungodly influence? Are you
building others up, or are you dragging them down? By
Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com re James 2:23.
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4
4th of 28: Cared For:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds
5th of 28: Saved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI
6th of 28: You Can Change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc
8th of 28 Our Holy Father:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY
9th of 28 Gifts of Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo
Live ongoing series in progress.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
