Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. – Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. – Proverbs 13:20 (KJV)

52 Proverbs in 52 Weeks – Week 8
This week’s theme:  Choosing Your Friends

Our friends matter.  And that truth applies to both young and old.  Whether we’re teenagers, young adults, “middle-aged” or crowned with silver hair, the company we keep says a lot about who we are and where we’re going. 

Like it or not, we can’t help but be influenced by the people we spend time with.  The visual evidence of this reality is all around us.  Look at just about any group of individuals in a social setting and you’ll see similar clothing, hair styles, mannerisms, etc…they often even use the same phrases and lingo when they speak.  We see this effect in social media as well.  Groups of people who regularly interact via Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and similar platforms tend to adopt shared habits, beliefs and methods of interaction.  For good or for bad…the people we hang out with offer us advice and influence our behaviors.

Putting a finer point on it…if we surround ourselves with people who put God first, are loving and kind to one another, are trustworthy, are generous, work hard and honor their families, then these positive influences become embedded in our daily lives.  I think these are the types of people Solomon was talking about in Proverbs 13:20 when he encouraged us to “walk with the wise.”  On the other hand, if we spend our time with people who put their own self-interests ahead of God and others, are rude to one another, think it’s ok to lie and be unfaithful, put sports and hobbies ahead of God and church, then these are the behaviors and influences that will infiltrate our hearts and minds.  In that case, we’ve become “a companion of fools.”

So…which path will we take when we choose our friends?  Will we walk with the wise or be a companion of fools?

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