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

Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

As a teenage girl, I have adults in my life who are constantly telling me, “You are who you hang out with.” I often find myself evaluating if a friend is a true friend or a fake friend.

We teenage girls tend to have this stigma around us for being gossipers, who would kill to know the tea. We are known for being fake, always having some sort of drama or problems amongst our peers.

But I think if people were to look deep and evaluate themselves, one could find adolescent girls are not the only ones with this problem. Proverbs 13:20 states, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

Throughout the past year, I have been able to not only see this verse, but experience it in my own life. I have been stepped on, betrayed, and beyond hurt by people whom I once called friend. But I have also been showered with love and prayers by the people I have come to know as my closest friends.

There’s an old saying that friends are the family you choose. The Bible itself compares a true friend to a brother. Every time we are with friends who don’t share certain core values as ourselves, we risk our integrity, along with being hurt. True friends will inspire you to be the best version of yourself, build you up when you are down, and help carry you when it seems you cannot walk any further.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, please help me evaluate the people in my life. Please help me choose friends that bring me up, and have the same integrity as I do. Help heal my heart of the hurt that others brought me and teach me to forgive as You forgive me.

Daily Reading: Proverbs 26

– Contributed by Maegan Choate