Hello my friends. Yes, friends. We all agree that friends matter; we all agree that we want true friends. Indeed, we want friends who stick closer than a brother; we want friends who understand us, love us, encourage us, forgive us and are faithful to us. This sounds like something only the Lord is able to do. Truly, without failure, our Lord will never disappoint us. His understanding, forgiveness, compassion, faithfulness and love are beyond our understanding, and they endure forever.
Today, let’s talk about “our other friends,” however, in the context of how our environment, our gene expressions, our mood, our health and our whole being are shaped by our friends.
Psalm 101:6
“My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.
Read this verse again. Think about this, my friends. Ask yourself some questions:
How are “my friends” influencing me?
Are they encouraging me?
Are they speaking truth to me?
Are they jealous of me?
Are they loving me?
Are they tempting me?
Are they ministering to me?
Are they speaking any falsehood, white lies, flattery or empty words?
Are they inciting me to anger or godlessness?
Are they walking in truth?
Are they basing their life on Psalm 1 and God’s entire WORD or just comfortable verses?
Do they keep you from sleep?
Do they keep you from exercise?
Do they keep you from integrity?
Do they keep you from eating healthy and spending wisely?
Do they keep you from complaining and arguing?
Do they keep you from slander and slackness?
Do they keep you from living a godly life?
In other words, are your friends living a blameless life? Are they the faithful of the land? Are they helping you to live a blameless life? Do you help them to live a blameless life? Bidirectionality is very significant.
Your friends might not be bad people; they might be well intentioned, friendly and encouraging at times. They might be going to Bible study each week, but overall consider how they are affecting your environment, and therefore, your health. Consider how they are affecting the environment of your brain, your body and your beliefs. Consider how they are affecting your bank account, your academic studies, your availability to minister to others. Consider how they are affecting your decisions to exercise, to save money, to minister to others, to study, to get to work on time or to have quality time with family members. Consider how they are affecting your mood, your eating habits, your sleep, your exercise routine, your relationship with others.
While your friends or those you hang with most of the time might be fun, exuberant, well-intentioned, and overall pretty good people, they still might affect your environment in a way that is not healthy for you at this time. This can only be ascertained by you. Only you and God know how others affect you. In fact, God may be the only one who actually knows, but He is able to give you discernment about how others are affecting you, either to do His will or not do His will.
God has a plan of peace for you, and this plan includes doing His will. His plan for you is to live a blameless life. Are your friends helping you to live a blameless life? Are they affecting the environment of your brain, body and beliefs in such a way that you are strengthened to live a blameless life? If not, this does not mean they are not your friends; it only means that they are affecting you in a way that might be hindering your environment, and therefore, your health and ultimately your ability to do God’s will. Remember, Peter loved Jesus, but when he tempted our Lord to entertain the idea of not going to the cross, our Lord rebuked him immediately with the piercing words, “Get behind me, Satan.”
This does not mean that you get rid of certain friends. Jesus did not get rid of Peter. However, it does mean that you are wise to acknowledge how these friends are affecting you. After this, you are responsible to decide what is the path forward out of any oppression, hindrance, temptations, unhealthy behavior and stress that might be caused by this so called “friendly” environment.
Continue to love others; continue to keep relationships; continue to look to God for direction, but also keep your eyes on the faithful in the land, and by all means, continue to live peaceably with all people if possible. Do you part faithfully. However, seek out the individuals who are blameless to minister to you. Guard your environment by those you allow to surround you, to take up your time and to dictate your choices. Analyzing this might actually free you from some unwanted stress that may have been plaguing you. The truth sets us free. God wants us to experience His peace; He wants to relieve us of stress; He wants us to do His will.
Most importantly, continue to live a blameless life.
Seek peace and pursue it, my friends. Seek peace and pursue it by living a blameless life, by being a friend and letting friends affect your environment in healthy ways.