To be or not to be with you...

During Sunday's service, my pastor described a situation he was counseling a teenager through. This boy had some friends who weren't Christians, but he wanted to be a witness to them, hang out with them, and be there for them. Instead of being this great light for Christ, he was making some poor decisions to fit in with these friends. Our pastor's advice? Don't hang out with them anymore--block them from your phone if you have to and stop going to their house.

While I understood the logic behind the advice, a part of me didn't agree. We as Christians are commanded to witness to others, to share our faith, to show God's love. If the only people we associate with are Christians, then evangelizing becomes rather hard to do (to the point you may be literally preaching to the choir). After all, Jesus hung out with prostitutes and fishermen and (gasp!) the Roman IRS. We shouldn't cloister ourselves off unless the situation is truly dangerous, right?

What I've realized since is that while I should continue to befriend nonbelievers and include them in my life, they can't be my core circle of friends. I look back at some of the lowest and darkest points in my life, other times when I found myself really struggling with sin, and in every instance I see myself spending a lot of time with nonbelievers who encourage me (or participate) in that bad behavior. Like my pastor's wife says, it's like crabs in a bucket. When one tries to climb out, the others will actually pull him/her back down. It's very dangerous for a Christian--not only can we lose our ministry, but we can damage our relationship with God. I don't think that a fun evening with "the boys" is worth that.

So my final opinion? Caution and moderation, combined with strong, healthy relationships with believers to keep us accountable and uplifted. I know, it's the same opinion I have with sugar. Let's pray that I do better with my friendships than I do with my chocolate consumption.