“Examine Your Circle of Friends”

Scripture: "Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."" - 1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV

Over the years, God has allowed us to make friends whether if they were grade school friends, high school friends, college friends, church friends, or neighborhood friends. As you have these friends, you realize that some of your friends are more valuable than others. Think about the times when you have experienced death in your family, your true friends are there for you or they will place a call to you to see if you are okay and if you need anything. Think about the times when you have hit financial hardship, your true friends step up and help you in any way possible. On the other hand, there are "friends" who leech off of you and in turn, dries you up mentally, emotionally, and spiritually like a prune. I say all of these things to call for you, my brother, and my sister, to examine your circle of friends. Not only am I calling you to examine your circle of friends, God is calling you to examine your circle of friends. This statement can be made because of today's text.

Our main scripture for today is located in 1 Corinthians. This book, written by the Apostle Paul, was directed at the church at Corinth while he was residing in Ephesus. 1 Corinthians was written during the time frame from 53 to 57 AD. Within the chapter of focus, Chapter 15, it is entitled the "Doctrine of Resurrection". Within this doctrine, Paul covers the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrected body. Today's main scripture falls under the resurrection of the dead theme. Within this theme, Paul addresses why it is important to examine your circle of friends.

He begins the text with a warning to the Corinthian church by saying, "Do not be misled". Just as the Apostle Paul warned them, God wants to warn you, do not be misled. The people that smile in your face all the time, do not be misled because those may be the ones who hurt you the greatest. The people who tell you that you are doing a great job, do not be misled because in the background, they are jockeying for your position or fame. The people who say they love you every two seconds, do not be misled because they may be used by the enemy to do you harm. The people who wants to talk your head off 24/7, do not be misled because they may be stopping you from loving your mate, spouse, or family in the correct way. In all of your dealings with people, just allow God to minister to you and not be misled!

Paul places a cap on this scripture of examining your circle of friends by saying, "Bad company corrupts good character". In examining your circle of friends, be leery of those who always have something negative to say because they will corrupt your good character. Be leery of those who always want to talk about somebody because they want to corrupt your good character. Be leery of cliques because those cliques may corrupt your good character. The old cliché says, "One bad apple will spoil the whole barrel" and if you allow the "bad apple" known as the enemy to infiltrate your camp, he will bring bad company to corrupt your good character. The blessing is God loves you and I so much that He sends us this warning through His Word and not only that, He has left us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all things. You can believe this: If the Holy Spirit is in your ear about something or someone, PLEASE LISTEN, because He's already examined that friend and will let you know if they are bad company and wants to corrupt your good character!

In closing, we have been blessed to make friends through our lives. However, some of them may be associates and some are genuine friends. God, through the Apostle Paul, has provided us warning and rationale to examine your circle of friends. He tells us not to be misled and remember that bad company corrupts good character. In 2010, God wants you to have the "right" people in your life that you may grow. Do you want that for yourself? If so, take inventory of your circle of friends!