He who walks with the wise grows wise. Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)
Besides avoiding people of poor character who will take us the opposite direction of the way we want to go, the Scriptures inform us that we will benefit from being around people of sound character. By engaging with honorable people, we gain the advantage of their wisdom and grow in wisdom ourselves.
In our lesson, we discovered three types of people that will help us progress in our relationship with Christ and relational transformation. We should choose friends who will:
- Challenge me mentally: There are those who can’t discuss more than the weather or the latest sports score, and there are those who are reading, considering, investigating, exploring, and reinventing their thinking. These people are engaged and they help us think and grow. This helps us intellectually, and can help us understand and grow in our faith.
- Support me emotionally: It is a certainty that life will have its difficulties. We will do better when we face these challenges along the way with a support structure of mature people who care about our well-being and can provide practical help as we encounter hard circumstances.
- Strengthen me spiritually: Rather than continually being pulled down by friends that are going the wrong direction, we can build relationships with those who are seeking to improve themselves. As we attend church and get involved in ministry teams and growth group studies, the interaction with other Christians strengthens our faith. You’re doing that now by participating in Transformed 2.0! Congratulations!
Now that you’ve begun this positive life change, make it a life-long habit. You’re on the path of relational transformation.