The Standard Of Who You Should Have As A Close Friend In Your Life
Having lived in Washington, DC for seven years, you’re bound to meet a lot of people unless you stay home all the time. The city has no shortage of receptions, galas, embassy events, balls, lectures, happy hours, and talks. All these events can make you feel that you have a lot of friends. My seven years in DC had a profound effect on my early adulthood because being in a very social city opened me up and made a socialable person, to where it made me feel that a lot of the people I meet and kept seeing at events were actually friends. More often than not, they weren’t friends, they were acquaintances. The earlier someone can learn the difference the better.
God gives us a clear standard of what a friend looks like in the Bible. Looking at Psalm 1: 1 we see that standard or rather measurement of what friends should look like:
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers. ”
A Christians, those we keep close to us should fit into these three standards. Our friends should be people who don’t walk with wicked people, our friends should not live sinful lives, and our friends should not even sit and keep company with mockers.
According to Merriam-Webster, a mocker is a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another. When we keep these kinds of people in our lives, our lives will become like such people. We will start to look like, talk like, and act like the wicked, we will think that active sin is ok, and/or become mockers. Our lives will start to have chaos and problem after problem all because we allowed the wrong kinds of people and started to behave like these wrong kinds of people.
God has put us all on this earth to know Him and for Him to reveal our purposes. All humans have a purpose by God and some squander their purposes. It’s is the devil’s goal to thwart God’s purpose for our lives and part of that means sending the wrong kinds of people (i.e. the wicked, active sinners, and mockers) to squander God’s awesome plan for our lives.
I remember in London I had a boyfriend that fit these three examples of bad character. A friend who is a lawyer and very classy spoke directly into my life one day and said, “you have to be careful not get caught up with a guy that will become a liability for where you’re headed in life.” Such a lawyer thing to say, they’re so careful and risk averse. But, it was so true. Those words have always stood in my mind that when a guy recently expressed interest, I asked him a series of serious questions to discern if he would be a liability and sadly he fit one of these three traits.
So, whether you live in social city like DC or are just a social person, you must be sure that those you call friend aren’t liabilities- that they aren’t wicked, living an active sinful lifestyle or are mockers. God will give us discernment and show us who a person really is if we seek His counsel.