Wise or Foolish?
Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
PROVERBS 13:20
ARE YOU A LEADER or a follower? What do you think it means to be a leader? Have you ever followed someone else and regretted it?
Having friends is awesome. Having friends who make good choices is even better. But what happens if you have friends who make bad choices? Do you follow because they say so, or do you become a leader and say no?
God warns us in the Bible about the people we choose to hang out with. This verse says if you hang out with kids who are always in trouble, you’re going to get in trouble too. But if you hang out with kids who make good choices, so will you. That seems like an easy choice.
But there are times when our friends are really convincing. And maybe what they want to do sounds like a lot of fun. And you might wonder, What if we don’t get caught? Or, Maybe I wouldn’t be in that much trouble. But the truth is, when we hang out with people who are making unwise choices, soon we won’t see anything wrong with the choices. We’ll think it’s okay. And then we become one of the fools the Bible is talking about.
So be a leader! Help your friends make good choices. And don’t go along for the ride when they’re making bad choices—it will get bumpy.
DO
Think about a time you went along with friends when you didn’t want to or knew you shouldn’t. What happened? What did you learn from that situation? Practice saying these words; then you’ll have a way out if friends try to get you to go along with a bad choice.
- “Thanks, but I’m fine doing (insert activity) instead.”
- “I can’t do that; my (mom, dad, brother, grandma) would kill me.”
- “Why don’t we do (insert activity) instead?”
- “No thanks. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
PRAY
Dear God,
Thank you for sending friends to be in my life. And thank you for giving me a good, thinking brain. Please guide me when my friends want to do something I know is wrong. Help me be a leader, not a follower. Amen.
READ
Proverbs 1:10; Galatians 1:10