Do you have friends like Jonadab?

What kind of people do you allow to influence you? The people that usually have the most influence on us are our friends. King David's son, Amnon, had a friend named Jonadab. The bible describes Jonadab as crafty. As most of you know, the story goes like this (in my own words) (2 Samuel 13): Amnon (David's son) had a severe crush on his sister, Tamar, and he was really stressed out over this temptation, because he knew it would be improper to do anything unto her.

-So Amnon knew that it wouldn't be right to do anything to his sister....and so he didn't plan on doing anything. -

Jonadab noticed that Amnon was stressed and getting skinny because of it. Amnon revealed to Jonadab his situation when Jonadab asked why he was stressed/skinny. Jonadab suggested that Amnon pretend to be sick and request that Tamar take care of him and make him food. From there, he could have his way with her. Amnon did just that. When Tamar came, he ordered everyone else attending to him to leave. He begged Tamar to lie with him and when she refused, he forced her.

-Friends that support sin don't have our best interests in mind, and therefore, don't really care like friends should.-

I wonder if Amnon would have done this without the influence of Jonadab. Would Amnon have just ignored his feelings and moved on with life? I think it would have been much easier for him to forget about it and overcome the temptation if he didn't have a friend supporting his sin. Do you have any friends like Jonadab? Friends that encourage, participate in, overlook, support, or tolerate sin should not be in the constant company of a faithful Christian. (which is one reason why I believe it's a terrible idea for Christians to marry outside of the Lord's body) 

You have the power to choose your friends! Yes, we should be acquainted with non-Christians so we can lead them to Christ, but the main company we keep should be FAITHFUL Christians. We need to stop looking for loop holes and start denying ourselves (what we want) for Christ. I understand that switching your primary friendships from non-Christians to faithful Christians is not easy. It will take a while. Here are some suggestions for making those changes.

1. Instead of simply denying those friends company, it's easier to occupy your time with church friends, church activities, bible study, etc. It is easier to hang out with those people less when you are too busy being lifted up by your church family and growing stronger in the Lord!!

2. Let your friends know where you will/will not go with them. Explain that you cannot be seen at places like bars, clubs, or parties. Also explain what you cannot let them participate in while you are with them (smoking, drinking, cussing, vulgar entertainment, etc.) Your friends need to know where you stand. This can result in you leading them to Christ by your wonderful example or losing their friendship. If they are not understanding about your requests, they aren't real friends anyway.

3. Talk with your friends about Christianity and the church. They need to know what the bible says and you need to show it to them. If your excuse to hang out with these people has something to do with "leading them to Christ" and you aren't constantly discussing biblical things and requesting bible studies with them, then how are you to lead them to Christ, eh?

Having members of the church as your best friends is a wonderful blessing!! Soon, you won't even want to be anywhere else!!

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov. 12:26).

(In the words of Kevin Pendergrass): In the long run, if you remain faithful, you will not have to withdraw your companionship to those in the world because the world will eventually withdraw from you (Jn. 3:19-21; Mt. 5:16; Jn. 15:19).

1 Corinthians 15:33 

"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."

Make sure not to forget the "BE NOT DECEIVED" part! Do NOT think that YOU are the exception!! You WILL be influenced by what you are around. The influence others have on us can, many times, be hard to see for ourselves. By the time we realize it, it's gone so far that we experience extreme heart break because of it. Make sure you are being influenced to be a better Christian. We should never go backwards or stay the same in our Christian walks. If you're not growing, something needs to change.

True friends are the people that will do anything to try and take you to Heaven with them. Don't have friends like this? Well, then you need to find better friends.

As always, I love you all very much, my family.

Some awesome friends that have made me a better Christian through college. I'm so thankful for them and miss them so much!

                Some of my new friends at MSOP. I love them. They have helped me grow as a Christian so much already! I've only been here for a couple months and I know I'm going to miss them like crazy after we leave!