The Company You Keep MattersSample

Who You Walk With.

After a night out with your friends, do you feel encouraged and hopeful? Do you feel more justified in your hurt, anger, or disappointment? Do you feel exactly the same after you leave as you did when you arrived? So often, we choose our friends and build relationships with people based on proximity, but it’s important to consider who you spend your time with in a greater context. It’s easy to default to choosing the people who are right there, especially when they enjoy the same activities you do, but at the end of the day, your friendships are shaping who you’re becoming. Sometimes we need to pause and ask ourselves, “Am I becoming who I want to be? Or am I becoming who I’m around?”

Scripture is clear that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our nets should be cast far and wide when it comes to the love and kindness we extend to others, but there is a difference between being friendly to someone and being friends with someone. You can be friendly to anyone, but your friends are who you walk with, sit with, and share meals with during every season. They are the people who hear the “long version” of your stories with all the details, and they are the ones who should be able to understand and stick closer to you when things in life take a rough turn. Not everyone fits into that category, and that’s actually okay. You don’t have to freely share every detail with just anyone, even if you see them on a regular basis. It’s benficial to consider who they are and what they will do with what you share. Will they encourage you? Will they confirm your frustrations? Will they challenge you to keep going and draw from a deeper well?

Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Be careful to choose friends who sharpen you and help you grow rather than shaving you down.

Take a moment to evaluate how you feel after spending time with your friends. Remember that you don’t have to be friends with everyone and you don’t have to invite every friend into all areas of your life. Consider how you might shift your schedule, your activities, or your conversations to align your friendships with who you are becoming in Christ.