We must face the truth that this can happen to us. The possibility of losing your soul is too serious to adopt an indifferent attitude to this matter. There are some guideposts that we can use to help us decide whether our friends are dangerous to our souls.
(1). Can you share your devotion to God with them? If the friends you choose are interested in the church and its work, and you can enjoy the companionship of Christian service, you will be made stronger for that relationship. But if you are a little embarrassed to have them know how much time and effort you put into God's service, you need to be on guard, the danger is already present.
(2). Can you talk freely with them about the Lord? Christianity must be the thing of first importance in our lives. God will not take second place to anything or anybody. And whatever is really important to us we want to talk about with our friends. A test to apply, therefore, is, are you as comfortable talking about the Lord as about basketball, or clothes, or school events? If you find yourself making a conscious effort not to discuss your convictions, you need to find other friends.
(3). Does your association cause you to think more about God and your responsibility to him, or do you find yourself more and more involved in other things? The most dangerous position possible for a Christian is to let his thoughts and interests center on things other than the Lord. We are what we think; if you don't think much about Christianity, you won't be much of a Christian.
(4). Do you find yourself sometimes doing things you don't believe are right because your friends want you to? This is usually the last step before complete departure from God. When you are more concerned about being popular with your friends than about faithfulness to the Lord, you are making the same tragic mistake as the "sons of God" made long ago.
The time to solve this problem is before it arises. If you never select as a friend someone who will hinder your Christian growth, you will never face this danger. Do not forget that even the Lord can become impatient with our foolish ways. We have no right to think that he will wait for us, and give us repeated opportunities to correct our mistakes. Do not trifle with God, for someday he will call you for a reckoning.
Jim Allen
