You Must Choose Wisely!

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night." -Psalm 1:1-2

These two verses have a very deep meaning! Not only do they tell us of the blessing that we will receive when we obey God, but they also give us such a strong warning that a big CAUTION sign should be attached. They warn us to be careful of the friends that we choose.

Our friends and associates can have huge influences on us, even without us realizing it. As parents we teach our children to choose their friends wisely, yet we often don't practice what we preach. When we have relationships with those who mock what God considers important, we may be sinning by being indifferent to God's will, in turn we are no different than them and are mocking God as well. We must stand up for what God considers holy and righteous!

Many times we have people in our lives that we love, such as family who also can drag us down and away from God. These types of relationships can be especially difficult because they are family and we love them. However, they too can have a huge influence on our lives and not always for the better. Like our children we must choose our relationships wisely, even when they are family.
 
The question is.. Do your relationships, friends and family, build up your faith, or do they tear it down?

Healthy relationships should draw you closer to God, not hinder your relationship with God.

Pray and ask God to show you which relationships in your life are dragging you down and hindering your growth with God. Ask Him to show you which of those relationships should maybe come to an end. BE CAREFUL NOT to end a relationship out of anger or revenge. MAKE SURE that your motives are pure and that if you do end a relationship that it is only because they do not lift you up but instead drag you down.

Close your eyes.... Picture yourself standing on a chair with someone standing on the floor next to your chair. Reach down to them and grasp their hand. Now try and lift them up to you. It is very hard to do so.
 Now, picture yourself holding their hand and them pulling on you. It is very easy for them to drag you down and off of the chair. Try it if you like.

This is how relationships can effect us. It is much harder to pull someone up towards a healthy relationship with God, and so much more easier for them to drag us down into an unhealthy relationship with them and away from God!

Father, I pray that you will show each of us the relationships in our lives that do not lift us up, but instead pull us down. It is so very difficult for us to end relationships. Father, You see our every hurt, You hold our every tear in your hand. You know how hard it is for us to find good, healthy, uplifting  relationships. Help us to remove the unhealthy relationships from our lives with pure motives.  I ask Lord, that You will replace our bad relationships with godly relationships that hold us accountable to Your word and lift us up to You.
In Jesus name. Amen
Christian