Fools or wisdom?

Would you classify your circle of friends as being wise? Would you classify them as being fools? You might be interested to know that according to the Bible your answer to that question is relevant to your own destiny. Friends have a big influence on us and our lives. I believe that any parent who loves their child will make it one of their top priorities to know who their children consider friends and although it would be difficult to choose their friends for them, we can forbid them from hanging out with anyone who will be harmful to their well-being.

I did this with one of my sons. He had gotten in with a bad crowd and as a result he started making poor grades and some serious mistakes. I intervened and made him disassociate himself from all of them, and when I say all of them I did mean ALL of them. He looked at me and told me, “Dad that is every friend that I have”. I looked at him and told him gruffly, “Make some new friends”.

I did enforce it rigorously and even confronted one of the little punks myself and I directly warned him what would happen to him if I ever caught him on my property again. He got the message and got out of there like he was running from the devil. My son got the message too. He broke off his relationship with “ALL” of them and was rather lonely for a few months but eventually he made new friends of a different caliber and soon his grades went up and his attitude changed for the better. As an epilogue to this saga we have kept up with some of his former friends and they did not improve. One committed suicide, several got on drugs, and as best as I can determine all dropped out of school and none graduated from college.

While some “New Age” parents might think this is extreme, I look at my happy successful college graduate drug-free sons today and feel that I did what I was supposed to do as a loving father. Parents should instruct their children and they should discipline them. No child should be left to raise themselves as they see fit. The Bible states it unequivocally and not a word in God’s holy word, (the Bible), is incorrect.

After checking out your kids friends, check out your own circle. Are they wise or are they a bunch of fools? Maybe it is time for a change. If you do not have any’ friends, that is not good either. The Bible is clear that friends are a good thing and we should have friends. If we have trouble making new friends we are instructed by the Bible that we must be friendly ourselves. Don’t always wait for someone to call you and invite you out or over, you will note that there is a dial on your phone and amazingly you can dial out and call othersMake that call today, (to the wisest person you know).

Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise grows wise,
But a companion of fools suffers harm.