So lately, when I turn to the Good Book, I find my way to Proverbs. This morning (amidst pondering all the stuff I wrote about in the previous post), I came across this one:
Proverbs 22:24-25--
"Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare."
lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare."
It's the same rationale behind, "you are who you hang out with." If you surround yourself with gossips, you are likely to be given to gossip. If your friends smoke weed every weekend, you will probably end up high along with them--whether by peer pressure, boredom, or second hand smoke. At best, everyone else will assume you did anyway. Guilty by association.
Far be it for me to sound like I'm contradicting something in the Bible (and someone please call me out if this logic is out of line), but I don't think this proverb means to avoid sinners altogether. After all, Jesus hung out with some of the dregs of society--probably plenty of wrathful men, given to anger. Yet He did not sin.
Friends are really important. The close circle surrounding a person holds great sway over her state of being. And, certainly, I hope my most intimate friends are the types of people who will encourage and edify me. It seems logical, then, that I should avoid friendships with people that might "drag me down."
Still, in light of my desire to trust God rather than societal rules, I've started to wonder if maybe it is better for me to remain friends with some of the more dangerous people in my life. Whether those people are able to "give" me anything in return, I know they need to be loved, purely, sacrificially...as I know Christ has loved me. This means more than speaking to them occasionally or giving a friendly smile and wave as I walk down the street. It means I need to get involved in their lives, get right down into the grit with them and be willing to share my own weaknesses, trials, and victories as well. Whether the relationships are "safe" or "healthy" perhaps I should stop worrying about how they will affect me and trust God to take care of my heart instead of trying to do it myself (because let's be honest, He'll do a better job anyways).
There's probably a question of balance in this as well, but I can trust God to help me figure that out too. He is so rad.
Far be it for me to sound like I'm contradicting something in the Bible (and someone please call me out if this logic is out of line), but I don't think this proverb means to avoid sinners altogether. After all, Jesus hung out with some of the dregs of society--probably plenty of wrathful men, given to anger. Yet He did not sin.
Friends are really important. The close circle surrounding a person holds great sway over her state of being. And, certainly, I hope my most intimate friends are the types of people who will encourage and edify me. It seems logical, then, that I should avoid friendships with people that might "drag me down."
Still, in light of my desire to trust God rather than societal rules, I've started to wonder if maybe it is better for me to remain friends with some of the more dangerous people in my life. Whether those people are able to "give" me anything in return, I know they need to be loved, purely, sacrificially...as I know Christ has loved me. This means more than speaking to them occasionally or giving a friendly smile and wave as I walk down the street. It means I need to get involved in their lives, get right down into the grit with them and be willing to share my own weaknesses, trials, and victories as well. Whether the relationships are "safe" or "healthy" perhaps I should stop worrying about how they will affect me and trust God to take care of my heart instead of trying to do it myself (because let's be honest, He'll do a better job anyways).
There's probably a question of balance in this as well, but I can trust God to help me figure that out too. He is so rad.
1 comment:
The whole issue is semantics, just don't define your relationship with them as a friendship. Problem solved. (joking, kind of)...and yes, I am pretty much addicted to your blog and am basically staying up all night reading all of it. It's enjoyable learning so much about one of Mitzi's best friends. Expect more comments.
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