Bad Company

Heart Prep

Pray and seek God’s guidance in your friendships and relationships. Ask Him to give you wisdom to see the effects bad company has on your inner self. Pray that He would give you the strength to walk away when it is time to walk away.

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”  

When I was in middle school, I had a best friend who wasn’t the best influence on me. We stayed close until high school, but once we got there he started doing a lot of things I didn’t agree with. He started smoking, doing drugs, and drinking, and his humor was a lot darker than it had been in the past. He began to rub off on me. I began to cuss and have a dark mind just like he had. I would make fun of people, because that’s what my friend did. I would make dirty jokes, and laugh at people for their misfortunes, because that’s what my friend did. He was my bad company, and corrupted my good morals. ALL BECAUSE I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH HIM.

Eventually, I realized I didn’t want to go any farther down the path we were on. I didn’t want to be like that for the rest of my life. I had to part ways with him. It was so painful, and very awkward. He was my only close friend at the time, so I had to go through 9th-12th grades without my best friend. But, the awesome part is, being best-friend-less was the best thing to happen to me. The minute I let him go, I grabbed onto the Lord and haven’t looked back since.

For the next years I kept close to God. He became my good company, and my Best Friend. I took walks and talked with Him; I told Him about my day and my struggles; and I read His Word every day to get to know Him better. It makes me sick, now, to think how mean, judgmental, dirty-minded, and just plain awful I used to be. But know this: you can choose your friends! Find freedom and friendship and fellowship with the
Lord today.

Life Application

What person, friend, or group should I distance myself from after learning about the consequences of hanging with bad company?

Is it worth risking my character, heart, and self-image just so I can be seen as ‘cool’?

How does this change my life and what are my next steps?