Your choice of friends matters to God, so you must be wise when choosing them, even in the church. Many young people unwittingly make friends with the wrong people—carnal Christians—right in the church.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t have good, godly friends in church. There’re many of such friends, and it’s easy to know them. A good friend is anyone whose friendship brings you closer to God, inspires you to pray more, learn God’s Word more, and do the things of God more. Your association should encourage and increase your abilities to do more for God. That’s the kind of relationship you should have with others.
If you have the wrong friends, you wouldn’t have much spiritual advancement. You’ll discover that you’re not as excited about going to church, studying your Bible, or sharing the gospel with others. That’s why you must carefully choose the friends you keep and the relationships you maintain, because they can either take you up or pull you down. Be sure your close associations are with Spirit-filled Christians with whom you can share God’s Word and inspire one another with the testimonies of your exploits for His Kingdom.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, help me to do away with any relationship that hinders my growth and fellowship with your Spirit. Open my eyes to see the changes I need to make in my relationships, and help me to continually grow in the knowledge of Your Word, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
