Friendship With Our FatherSample

Day 3: Friendship with Me or with the World?

Have you ever heard of one of the sayings: 

• A man is known by the company he keeps. 
• The one who walks with lame people is limping within a year.

Both sayings try to highlight the influence of the people we relate to or spend our time with. As children, we are always reminded of the importance of knowing how to choose our friendships. King Solomon spoke of this when he said the following: 

• “He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will suffer.“ (Proverbs 13:20 CJB)

Anyone who yearns to be wise must walk with people who bear the fruit of wisdom, and those who walk with fools must know that sooner or later, suffering will knock on their door. The same thing happens in the spiritual world—everyone who wants to be friends with God must live in line with the nature of God. Although we are in this world, we are not of this world; we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We live to please God, and the only way to please God is by living as His Word says.

We will be known by our fruit. Freshwater and saltwater cannot flow from the same source at the same time. Similarly, we cannot say we are friends of God and have friendship with the world. James 4:4 (KJV) says:

• “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” 

A good example of this is the story of Samson. He was an Israelite judge whom God called, and He gave him great strength to free Israel from the Philistines. Since before he was born, God had given clear instructions on what Samson's purpose was and how he should live, yet over time Samson began to stray away from what God said and to act contrary to that. This is friendship with the world. God called Samson to destroy the Philistines, yet Samson ended up marrying a Philistine woman.

What is friendship with the world? It is everything that takes us away from God, even if it is not necessarily a sin. Being friends with God is much more than a longing; it is a commitment that must be born in the heart and seen through its fruit.

Meditation

He who walks with God ends up being His friend. He who prefers the things of the world ends up distant from God. Take care of what you hear, of what you see, of what you say, and of how you act.

Prayer

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me,  And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23–24 ASV)