A man once had a pet canary that had a beautiful song. During the summer, the man thought he would let his canary enjoy the sunshine. So he put the canary’s cage in a tree in his backyard. Of course, there were a lot of other birds that frequented the tree, mainly sparrows. Whereas canaries sing, sparrows simply twitter and chirp. Over the course of the summer, the canary’s song began to change. By the end of the summer, the canary sounded just like a sparrow. He had lost his beautiful song and become like those sparrows. You also become like the friends you keep, whether for good or bad.
Today my messages is entitled “Finding The Right Friends.” I’m going to be talking about how you as a parent can influence your children’s relationships with others. In this messages series, “Parental Guidance Required”, I’ve been talking about the three relationships of your children that you need to influence: their relationship with God, their relationship with you and their relationship with others. NIV Proverbs 20:11 Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right. Even children become known for their actions and conduct. One of the important parts of life is your child’s relationships. Who does your child play with, who do they hang out with? Your child’s reputation and behavior will be strongly influenced by their friends.
NIV Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. We could, of course, substitute man with child and the verse would still be true. Blessed is the child who does not walk with the wicked, but who delights in God’s Word. So in this verse, we have the negative warning that parents are to teach their children. Don’t hang out with sinners or you will become like them. The positive encouragement is that children need to build relationships with friends who put a high priority on God’s Words, people who are believers.
Think back over your life to some of the major events. If you’re like me, your best decisions in life were influenced by good relationships. On the other hand, your worst mistakes were often strongly influenced by bad relationships. As a parent, God wants you and I to teach our children the importance of finding the right friends. So, let’s look at these two principles in more detail.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my March 4, 2007 message entitled Finding The Right Friends