Something I have always been thankful for is the amount of godly friendships and influences I have in my life. It has been an incredible blessing to know that those who are a part of my “inner circle” of friends truly love and care for me, and want me to grow in godliness.
Every Monday morning I hop on Zoom alongside four other men of our church to pray through Scripture, and over our congregation. A while back, we specifically prayed through Psalm 1 and on the importance of keeping godly friendships. We focused in on the following verses:
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
– Psalm 1:1-3
Now there are a lot of different truths we can pull from these rich verses, but I want to focus, on the implied command of the text: having godly friends and counsel. Look around at those who are closest to you. Are they believers? Do they share the same worldview as you? Are they looking out for your best interests, and most importantly, are they willing to tell you what you need to hear and not just what you want to hear?
We need to make sure that we are surrounding ourselves with fellow believers. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have friendships with unbelievers, but rather that our closest circles of influence need to be believers. If I am surrounded by bad influences, or even “good” people who are not Christians, the advice, help, and influence I get will not grow me in my sanctification! Their beliefs and convictions will be starkly different from my own.
Let me give you an example: A while back, a friend of mine was feeling betrayed and hurt by her ex boyfriend. She asked her non-christian friend for advice and the advice was, “just sleep with his best friend to get back at him.” What horrible and ungodly advice! What a clear sign of “the counsel of the wicked.”
Now, not all advice will be as vile as that, however, the point remains. Our non-christian friends may sometimes give us advice, and at times it may even be “good” advice, but that is all it is, and all it ever will be… “good” advice. The counsel of our non-christian friends is at the mercy and whims of their own heart. It is not rooted (even if it is not as poor of advice as what I exampled above) in God’s Word or in His truth. What we need is godly advice and counsel, firmly rooted in the Bible, the character of God, and in the Church. Good advice may help our lives, and minds, but godly advice helps our souls.
I urge us all to take counsel with godly men and women who care for us, and furthermore, I urge us to give godly counsel to our friends as well. The psalmist tells us we are blessed and rooted firmly in the ground if so! By all means, have friends will all sorts of people, but choose carefully where you receive your advice/counsel from. As Solomon wisely says:
“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
– Proverbs 12:26
North Bullitt Christian Church 