Friends: Walk with the Wise

by  Whitney Jones

If you are like me as a parent, then you are always trying to “pick” your child’s friends for them. You want your child to hang out with people that are positive leaders and are making good choices. Let’s face it, your child’s friends are the next big influencer after you. They influence the way they dress, the music they listen to, the way they talk, and even the outlook they have on life. Your child’s friends can either make them or break them. Friendship is very important because it shapes our character.

The book of Proverbs is full of instructions concerning how we can do well and become successful, including instructions on how we should choose our friends. Look at the book of Proverbs as a kind of manual for parenting and guiding your children.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

-Proverbs 13:20

Here we are instructed that befriending foolish people will bring harm to our lives. On the other hand, seeking out wise friends who live right will bring about blessings in our life.

This Proverb teaches us that friendships shape our character. We tend to take on the character qualities of those we associate most closely with. With this in mind, as parents, we want to make sure the people our children are surrounding themselves with, are the people that have positive character qualities. The same qualities we would want to see in our own children.

To guide your children to surround themselves with positive friends, consider the following strategy:

Talk with your child about which friends are not positive influencers in their life.  Then, have them begin replacing the negative friends with good, positive friends. This might not be easy and it might not happen overnight, but it is necessary to avoid having these people influence them toward negative values. Choosing individuals with positive morals will elevate your child to have higher standards and will help them reach their full potential.

Finally, make sure your child is striving to be a positive friend. You want them to set a strong example and be a light to others. In this way, they will also contribute to others lives and character.