".. Remember that wise people say this, “Don’t have friends that do bad things, or they will get you to do bad things too.”- 1 Corinthians 15:33 (PEV)
One day a farmer grabbed his gun to shoot at a flock of pesky crows. Unfortunately, he didn’t see his sociable parrot that had joined the crows. After firing a few shots, he walked over to the fallen birds and was surprised to find his parrot badly ruffled with a broken wing. When the farmer’s children saw the injured bird, they asked, “Dad, what happened?” The farmer simply replied, “Bad friends.”
An African adage says "Don't make a goat your friend if your skirt is made of plantation leaves, or else it will strip you naked". This adage emphasizes the danger of keeping bad company.
In 1 Samuel 13:2-32, Amnon's decision to hang around Jonadad led to his premature death. Jonadad was a wayward young man that fuelled the fire of lust and ungodliness in Amnon. Unfortunately, King David (Amnon's father) did not know that his supposedly calm and sanctimonious parrot had joined the league of polluted crows in Israel. For about two years, Amnon succeeded in deceiving his father. But one day, while hanging out with Jonadad, Amnon got struck by the gun of judgment, his wings got broken and his life was cut short prematurely. Amnon finally paid the expensive price of death for his friendship with Jonadad. What a sad and unfortunate way to end one's journey in this world!
"I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people" - 1 Corinthians 5:11 (NLT)
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, God categorically warns believers to avoid the harmful influences of those who exhibit ungodly character traits like Jonadad around them. These people can easily lure any careless believer into sin, and wreck their lives and testimonies.
Friends, you cannot afford to make a goat your friend if you don't want your covering of leaves to be eaten by the goat. You must stop hanging out with "Jonadad" if you don't want to end your journey on earth like "Amnon" (Psalms 1:1-4). It is impossible to scoop fire in your bosom and not be burnt (Proverbs 6:27). Therefore, please walk away from the company of Jonadad today. Turn your back on everyone who can influence you negatively to engage in ungodly vices like fornication, adultery, lying, occultism, drunkenness, etc.
One wonderful poem that clearly mentioned some of the consequences of keeping company with bad friends is titled "Bad Friends".
BAD FRIENDS by Qiniso Mogale
Friends can be our worst enemies
Friends are often our foes
Friends are better placed to plan our downfall
Friends can In fact be our downfall
Be wary of friends.
Friends can be snakes
Friends can be back stabbers
Friends can be Judas Iscariot's
Friends can be sell outs
Our enemies at times prove to be best friends
Our enemies at times have our backs
Friends become poisonous.
Let's choose friends wisely
Let's take time in our selection
Lest we regret our choices
Lest we dread the day we met them
Lest we curse the day we allowed them into our lives.
Lets chose our friends wisely
Many are in hell because of bad friends
Many are in jail because of bad friends
Many are divorced because of evil friends
Many are in debt because of corrupt friends.
May God open the eyes of every Amnon in the company of Jonadad today and help them to escape the gun of judgment in Jesus name.
Good day and God bless you.
Maranatha!
Bro. Okanlawon Taiwo
For more articles, please visit -
https://okanlawon.webnode.com
https:// okanlawontaiwo.blogspot.com
Twitter: @tammytaiwo
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