Proverbs contains many informative things about the companions that people have. It is imperative that people learn from the lessons presented in proverbs so that potential mistakes in companions can be avoided. It teaches us about the companions that a person should have, and it talks about the companions that people should avoid. It also teaches us about the effect that these people have on the lives of those close to them.
God has graciously provided verses relevant to the choosing of friends within the confines of the book of Proverbs. Proverbs states in chapter thirteen, verse twenty “he that walketh with the wise shall be wise.” From this verse a Christian can infer that his friends must be wise, a trait that is said earlier in to book to be someone that “Fears the Lord.” [1] It is these people, those that fear God, that make the best friends as they can help provide wise counsel and act in a manner befitting of a close companion.
There are many more verses in Proverbs on the avoidance of friends and companions detrimental to a person’s spiritual growth. This is a testament to the want of God for his children’s companions in life. First and foremost a person is to avoid sinners as friends. Proverbs 1:10 says “if sinners entice thee consent thou not.” This is not saying that a person can have no friends for everyone sins. Rather, the verse says how a person should avoid people that cause others to sin and fall away from the path as a result of his direct and unhindered actions. In the same manner Proverbs says “forsake the foolish and live.”[2] These two categories of people cover all the types of people that are unfit to be friends. These people range from “angry” [3] to “vain.” [4] Christians are to avoid these people which are detrimental to faith and the development thereof.
Proverbs also speaks on the effect that friends have on an individual. These effects can be either good or bad. A good friend will build up a person. Proverbs 27:17 says “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” This is the effect that a friend should have on a person. In time good friends will shape each other to become sharper than they were before the onset of friendship. This is evidenced in numerous biblical examples including what is perhaps the best example, Jonathan and David. However, friends can also bring a person to ruin. About an angry man, Proverbs 22:25 says “Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.” Proverbs 13:20 also says “a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Friends are people that affect others around them greatly and as such there is always a positive or negative effect from their actions in a person’s life.
Proverbs says many things about friends not covered in this essay. However, from an cursory glance at the book, a person can posit these three things: what kind of friends should a person have, what people should we avoid as friends, and the effect of friends on a person’s life. Friends are important people that will affect a person in many sorts of ways. Perhaps one of the most evident forms of this is the common claim that long-time married couples look alike. [5] This is not the only way as peer pressure shows. [6] If a person is greatly affected by people they do not know, how much more so would they be by people they know well? Proverbs teaches Christians to choose friends wisely and avoid those that need to be avoided.
References:
- Proverbs 1:7
- Proverbs 9:6
- Proverbs 22:24
- Proverbs 28:19
- Why some longtime . . .
- Effects of pairing aggressive . . .
