Friends

Proverbs 1:8-19

I will be looking at the Book of Proverbs this spring.

First, it is important to note the genre of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is a wisdom literature. It is the gathering of general wise sayings and not absolute commands. They consist of principles and must not be taken therefore to apply to all situations.

Proverbs 1:8-19 talks about friendship with a particular group of people.
When we are young, our parents play the important roles in our decision-making. As we gradually mature, especially during our teens, our friends’ advice and opinion tend to influence us more than our parents. Friendship becomes the most powerful, influential voice in our lives.

Solomon lay out two advices that are universal of all parents’ advice to their children regarding friendship.

First, stay away from friends who are greedy for ill-gotten gains. Stay away from them, our parents cry. Regardless of race, culture or religion – all good parents would mete out this caution to their growing teens. These are people who will sweet-talk, persuade and try to convince you to their values.

I Corinthians 15:33 is clear: "Bad company corrupts good character."

But what if you did not know that the company you are keeping are wayward and evil till later? The Bible advises us to not just ‘do not give in to them” (v10) but not to “go along with them” (v 15). Sin has a gradual process – once you are lured into it, entrapment becomes inevitable. Thus, all parents would advise their children to cut off from such unhealthy friendship upon discovering the characters of these associates.

My take as a parent and as a pastor is while we love our friends; we need not associate and go along with them when they are clearly going down the wrong path with open eyes. Our job is to warn them, love them but not to go along with them. In fact, if they are not listening, we are to avoid them so as not to be entangled in their lifestyles.