Who you are becoming.
A Blog?
Hello world! Welcome to our first blog post, Steve and I are currently experiencing conflicting schedules which is preventing us from recording. In an effort to bridge the gaps between episodes I thought I'd try writing out some topics in a “blog” format in order to give some encouragement, rather than not hearing from us at all. So please make sure your tray table is locked in an upright position and your seat belt is securely fastened, because it's definitely going to be a bumpy ride.
Who you are becoming
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals. You might be saying, that’s why I just surround myself with "christian friends". But do you realize those "christian friends" are just a bunch of sinners who are down right dirty people who know how bad they are and how desperately they need our Lord and Savior Jesus or else they are headed straight for HELL! Obviously we are all sinners and I’m not anti-christian friends, c’mon i’m a pastor. But I also know that WE as believers are a work in progress, and sometimes we have a tendency to forget that. An important question to ask yourself is, "are the people I surround yourself with, people who challenge you to be better"? Or are they people you have reserved to tell your business to, or worse yet other peoples business? Think of the people you communicate with most frequently, what did that conversation look like? Do you even have what's considered a real friendship with anyone? I’m not talking about that buddy you go hunt with or that dude you get together and golf with every once in a while. I’m talking about someone that you regularly communicate with, that knows more than just your favorite sports team, and more than the surface level frustrations you have at work or home. I’m talking about friends that you know without a doubt have your back. In my life I know I have people who I can count on to pray with or for me, ( unfortunately I also have people who say they will pray for me or my family but actually won’t), but then I have friends that will go to battle with me. That verse in 1 Corinthians 15:33 is more than just a good bible quote, it should really make us think. He says don’t be deceived, any time that pops up in scripture it is stated because most of the time people are deceived about that particular topic. Think back to a time you had friends you thought you could trust and turns out they are the one’s who turned on you. Most of the time once you look back you can see situations that you just turned a blind eye to and didn’t think too much of their behavior. Normally if someone goes to you about some type of gossip, that should be an automatic indicator that they will gossip about you just like they gossip about someone else.
In that verse Paul says that bad company corrupts good morals. When I hear this verse quoted, it is normally to teenagers in reference to their friend group, which is used in a right manner but it goes deeper than that. He says it will corrupt good morals, meaning that those who have good strong standards need to WATCH OUT! Because those strong morals you have will be corrupted by wrong intentioned people we call friends. Have you ever defended someone you surrounded yourself with after being warned to watch out for them? In our hopefulness we might have said "you don’t know them like I do", or "they’ve changed they aren’t like that". When you are put in the position of defending someone's character be careful. Especially if it is coming from someone that has been directly hurt from that particular individual. The character of a person doesn’t truly get revealed until that person is going through a trial. An analogy that always comes to mind is that once a cup is bumped its true contents will come out, meaning what is truly in a person will be revealed during difficult times (some of you might be saying see that is why I just keep to myself, that isn’t healthy for your walk with Christ. Even though you say you don’t hang around anyone, you are only keeping company with me, myself, and I. And that company can sometimes be your worst counsel, but that is a topic for another time).
How do you know if the people you have in your life are the right people to have? First examine yourself do you like the person you are currently? Next examine the people you surround yourself with and the influence they have in your life. Are they encouraging you in positive ways, helping you reach your goals, supporting your growth? Another way to evaluate if you have the right people in your circle is to ask people outside of your friend group, like a spouse, a parent, or even a sibling if they have noticed a character change in you? Have them tell you what it seems like they feel is most important to you when you talk to them. You might be thinking that is insignificant what does that have to do with deep friendship, the truth of the matter is that how people show up for you in small situations, will be away to determine how they will show up in bigger circumstances in your life. If someone isn’t willing to help you when you don’t like something about yourself, that just means they are more focused on themselves then on you. How can you rely on someone to be a positive influence in your life as you desire to draw near to God, if they aren’t willing to take what you say and feel into consideration, and help you out of that situation. There are enough things to distract us in our Christian walk, that we don’t need to have wolves in sheep’s clothing in our lives deceiving us even more. Don’t be deceived who you surround yourself impacts who you are becoming. Are you as close to Jesus as you want to be, and are those you surround yourself with encouraging and helping you in your relationship with Christ?
I pray this has been helpful, if you have some thoughts or examples that help you find the right people in your faith journey we would love to hear about it. Feel free to reach out to us at ignitedfortitude@gmail.com