As the grading work around our house progresses, my wife and I were out looking over the work yesterday evening. As we were envisioning how our new landscaping may look, our attention turned to our asphalt driveway. There are several cracks, holes, and sunken points where water has flowed for years during heavy rainfall. It wasn’t always like that. When it was new, I imagine it was nearly perfect. But a poor choice by the builder in doing the original grading allowed too much water to run down the driveway. Over time, the water slowly eroded parts of the asphalt. The previous owner likely didn’t notice the problem until the damage became apparent.
Isn’t that the way it is with a lot of things? Poor choices lead to unforeseen consequences, but the consequences are slow in coming; thus, the problems are more difficult to resolve and the penalties more severe. This is especially true in relationships.
In my many years working with college students, I have seen this play out countless times. The choice of friends during their freshmen year determines the outcome of their college experience. A poor choice, even though it is not recognized as one, will have consequences that students will fail to recognize until the damage is done. A committed Christian meets others on his dorm floor. They are looking to have a good time and he joins in. Over time, what started as a way to fit in becomes a way of life. By the time he reaches his senior year, he is far removed from the life he lived before college.
Or a student comes to college, finds a group of believers with which to involve herself and begins to grow and mature spiritually. Then she meets an attractive guy that has been hanging out with the group, but is much less committed. She likes him; he likes her. Soon, they are spending more and more time with one another. Like water pouring over asphalt, in time cracks begin to appear in her commitment to the Lord. She has found another more satisfying to her. And as time goes along, her love for the Lord, not in words but in action, deteriorates.
The Teacher is right; those of us who seek to follow Jesus must choose our friends carefully because friends are the most effective means used by our Enemy to lead us back onto the wide path toward destruction. We must be attentive at the very beginning to where these friends might lead us. Are they going to lead us closer to the Lord or away from Him?
We may think, particularly when we are younger, that our choice of friends won’t matter that much, but we must take the long view. Choices always have consequences, but those consequences, good or bad, may take some time to appear. It is easy to be fooled. But know they will eventually appear, and if our choice is a bad one, the damage may be done and very difficult to repair.
Today, consider the friends you have and/or the relationship you are in. Are they drawing you nearer to the Lord? Are they encouraging you to grow deeper with Him and leading you into greater righteousness? If not, know damage is being done even if it has not yet become apparent. You have a choice: Make the changes necessary to fix things or suffer the consequences later on.
© Jim Musser 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment