Choose friends wisely because they have a tremendous influence on our lives. Have you noticed how much a small child watches their parents? Our granddaughter is fifteen months old and no longer wants to sit in a highchair or use baby utensils because she wants to be like her parents. Even infants are absorbing more than we realize. As they age, a child begins to imitate their parents in ways that often surprise us.
Unsurprisingly, when we become adults, we also think and act like the people we spend time with. We talk about the importance of our friends. Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. [1] The proverb tells us that the person we are walking with is someone we choose to spend time with. As we spend more time with certain people, we become closer to them and their influence on us.
Friends Help or Hinder Us
How we choose our friends says something about us and can pull us toward the Lord or away from Him. Let’s look briefly at Esther’s and Haman’s friends. The Jews were in a difficult position when Haman convinced King Xerxes to sign a decree to kill all the Jews in the empire. Queen Esther, also a Jew, replied to her cousin Mordecai when he asked her to go to King Xerxes to help them.
Esther 4:15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. [2] Esther’s friends were godly based on their actions.
Haman, a key government official, was angry because Mordecai, a Jew, would not bow down to him. Haman’s associates were vindictive and godless, leading him further into godlessness. Esther 5:14 So Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends suggested, “Set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall, and in the morning ask the king to impale Mordecai on it. When this is done, you can go on your merry way to the banquet with the king.” This pleased Haman, and he ordered the pole set up.[3]
What Does the Bible Say About Choosing Friends?
Esther and Haman’s lives embody a proverb. Proverbs 12:26The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. [4] Because our friends influence our lives, we must look for friends who bring wisdom and not foolishness to our table. Godly friends draw us closer to the Lord while ungodly lead us away from Him and our relationship with Him.
To learn more about how to choose friends wisely, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/esthers-request
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.