Picking Friends
Anyone who has served in the military has learned some hard lessons. Associating with the wrong people has led to the downfall of many well-intentioned young soldiers and sailors. One wizened veteran wrote to his son, who had recently been assigned to the USS Washington, with some strong advice on this subject:
You will no doubt find a few things not to your liking. Everything will be new and strange; you will get homesick that is natural. You will also become lonesome and disgusted and you will want for sympathy. There are always a few fellows who expect to get the world for nothing, and they are chronic kickers. So my advice to you is, to cultivate the acquaintance of the boys who are satisfied with the Navy and who appreciate what the Navy is doing for them, who are trying to make themselves better, physically, morally, and mentally, so they will be fitted to step into a position in civilian life. So try and make the Navy and incidentally yourself better for having been a part of it.107
Suggesting that someone associate with others who focus on the positive aspects of life is good advice for a person of any age or position. It is especially important for us as Christians to seek out a few close friends who will be positive influences during the ups and downs of our spiritual journey. These friends should share our desire to grow constantly closer to God. True Christian friends of this kind will feel empowered to hold us accountable and will want us to hold them accountable as well. Such friendships don’t just happen. It takes time and energy to build relationships of this depth, and such effort is notoriously difficult for men. Small groups have been a great answer to this need for many. Prayer and Bible study with a small circle of Christian friends is a sure path over time to a stronger relationship with those friends and, even more importantly, to God.
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
—Proverbs 13:20