The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway… And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. 1 Kings 11:2–3 (NLT)
As believers, we come across people all the time who don’t believe what we believe. Following Jesus’ example, we are to remain open to these people, showing them unconditional love and friendship.
However, we do have to be careful. As Solomon discovered with his foreign wives, the enemy may use these people to try and tempt us to submit to things that are wrong.
That’s why we need to be careful when choosing our close relationships. It’s far harder to stay focused and submitted to God, His power and His promises if there’s someone in your inner circle trying to derail your beliefs.
The Bible repeatedly warns us to stay away from bad company for our own good (1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:7). For example, if your best friends constantly complain about their spouses, it can affect the way you think about yours. Resist thinking like them and recognize the value, blessing and amazing gift your spouse is. If their attitudes are starting to influence you negatively and you can’t seem to turn it around, you have a difficult decision to make, because those wrong attitudes and beliefs will begin to affect your whole life.
The close company you keep will influence you toward like-minded attitudes. Solomon learned the hard way why God tells us to resist keeping bad company, but we can spare ourselves a world of pain if we heed His advice. Spend time with God; He will keep you in good company and help you to choose your inner circle wisely!