Walking With Christ

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.(ESV)

If you’re like me you can feel alone in a room full of friends but also feel crowded at a secluded table for two. My constant need for meaningful connection has led me to invest countless hours and sleepless nights into hobbies that I would never have otherwise chosen myself. I would hazard to say that nearly all of my “likes” are entirely based on my desire to be able to relate to other people and not because I see utility in them. If fact, I couldn’t honestly list any of my favorite past times that I didn’t pick up for social reasons.

If we were all to be brutally honest with ourselves and others we would have to admit that this is largely true for each of us. Even the things we like to do to relax when we are alone were, is for the most part, learned from someone else. It could have been someone we loved, respected, or admired. It could have been someone we couldn’t stand, too, since our dislikes are also often socially mandated or manipulated. The clothes we wear, food we like, likes, dislikes, hair, jewelry, tattoos, cars we drive, where we live, the work we do, and almost every other aspect of our lives has been influenced by someone else. The final decision and the responsibility for that decision rests entirely with us once we have weighed the options we were aware of at the time, but that can’t change the fact that the list of options were usually influenced by others.

Our parents are supposed to guide us. They have been tasked with preparing us to stand up in the world. The friends and other people we choose to surround ourselves with can determine much about our future. When parents fail or we obstinately refuse to follow sage advice then we often pick the wrong people to call friends. We allow the wrong influences into our lives and then see the negative results as those weeds grow up and choke out the fruit that might have been.

On the other hand, if we are surrounded by wise councilors then just the opposite tends to happen. Our roots grow deep and we produce much fruit when the time is right.

My challenge to anyone reading this is to become more conscious of the influences in our lives. Weigh the value of each influence as if it were an investment into your own future, because it is. The time we take to understand those influences is, perhaps, one of the most important time investments we could have in this life.