Who’s Influencing You?

Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

“Mom, you need to come and get me,” Susan said into the phone. Her heart sank. She knew she’d been caught and felt horrible. As she sat in the mall security office waiting for her mom to arrive, she wondered how she ended up here.

Several months earlier, Susan had started spending time with a girl who liked to shoplift. At first, Susan was alarmed at her friend’s behavior, but over time she saw all the things her friend was getting and how she never got caught. It started to look appealing. One day when they were out together, Susan took a small pair of earrings and slipped them in her bag—nothing too expensive. As she left the store, she felt excited that she’d gotten away with a new pair of earrings—ones she didn’t have to pay for.

As time went on, it got easier to steal more often and more things—until Susan got caught. She had several shirts and a sweatshirt in her bag, more than she’d ever tried taking before. Her mom came to the security office, shocked and disappointed by what her daughter had done, and took her home. Over the next several months, Susan paid back the store for all that she’d taken and vowed to never steal again. And she never did.

You may not have stolen something from a store, but all of us are vulnerable to doing things we wouldn’t otherwise if we spend too much time with—and allow ourselves to be influenced by—people who make poor choices.

When we look around at our friends, the question we need to ask ourselves is Who is influencing whom? Are we a positive influence for those around us, encouraging others in beneficial ways? Or do we allow ourselves to go along with the crowd, even when we know it’s wrong? No one is perfect, including us or our friends. Sometimes we’ll make mistakes or do the wrong thing. But one of the best decisions we can make is to be wise about who we allow to get close enough to influence our thoughts, words, and actions.

Things to Think About

• Who are your closest friends? How are they influencing you?
• Are they encouraging you in positive or negative ways?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Look for a way to be a positive influence on the friends around you.