Proverbial Hump Day: Proverbs 12:26

Be cautious in friendship

Proverbs 12:26 seems like a strange thing to encourage someone to do. Why would anyone want to be cautious in friendship?

A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

There are actually some very practical reasons to be cautious in friendship, and the proverb tells us why: The wicked will lead us astray.

Source: Pexels

We must be cautious in making new friends, but also in handling the friends that we have. We should, of course, be friendly toward everyone, but we must be wise in who we befriend, how engage with our friends, and what we allow our friends to lead us into. We don’t want to be led astray from Him who loves us and is our best friend.

To be led astray means to be lured into activities and behaviors that are destructive of our spiritual communion with God our Father and His people, our spiritual brothers and sisters. If it grieves the heart of God, it should grieve us too. Any friend who seeks to lead us into something that will grieve our Father’s heart is not a true friend.

Last weekend, I heard a preacher deliver a sermon about honoring a boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s body. One striking comment he said was, “If you love Jesus, you won’t do it.” It referred to premarital sex.

Well, that’s an unfashionable point of view in our world today, but is it true?

There are all sorts of things friends get us into that grieve the heart of God. Sexual activities is just one category. And the bottom line, we know Jesus us, but we do we love Him enough to remain true to His covenant with us and obey His commands? Are we faithful to live out the calling to which He has called us?

It’s not that friends aren’t a good thing. They are. But we must not let our earthly friends take us away from our Heavenly one.

Do you strive to honor the faith entrusted once for all to the saints?

Allen Taylor is the author of I Am Not the King.