Call Out The Funk

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.

A Loving Reminder

When I played soccer, I would come home from practice pretty sweaty and smelling quite funky, but because I had been practicing with my team for the last several hours, I was not aware of how intense the funky smell was. I would be so excited to talk about the day with my family, but not even two minutes into our conversation, my parents would interrupt me in love to tell me that I needed to go take a shower before our conversation could continue, because I did not smell good.

It is so important for us to surround ourselves with friends who will call out our funk in love (Ephesians 4:15) because they see the goodness that God is calling us to walk in, and they want us to experience all that He has for us. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will reveal funk to us that is in our hearts by allowing us to simply witness the lives of those around us. By surrounding ourselves with people who are intentionally seeking God first, we will be encouraged to want to keep growing in intimacy with Him as well. When we unknowingly walk in funk, it affects not only us but also everyone around us, and that is why we need to have people in our lives who call us out in love.

Celebration Friendship

Friends in Christ are not only those who call us out in our funk, but they are those who help us walk out of it, encourage us, hold us accountable, and build us up to be the incredible world changers that God has called us to be. They pull out the radiant beams of light that God knitted within us and help us to see them for ourselves. Friends are treasured gifts who were made to champion one another.

Friendship that God intended is a celebration kind of friendship. In Christ, we delight to see one another do well, and as I was once told, we do not tolerate each other’s victories, but we celebrate them. Woe to the person who falls and has no one to pick him up (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Just as iron sharpens iron, one friend sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).

Psalm 1 Friends

Growing up, our family’s motto was Psalm 1:1-3. My parents constantly spoke it over our home, and my brother and I engraved it upon our hearts. It says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law, day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” This, broken down, is simply saying that we will be blessed by choosing godly friends and daily spending time with God in His Word.

I call my friends my Psalm 1 friends. In order for us to pour into people who do not know Jesus, we must have people in our lives that are pouring into us as well. If I am not surrounding myself with Psalm 1 friends, then instead of influencing the world for God’s glory, I will be influenced by the world and conform to its patterns. Bad company corrupts good morals, so my core company must be with people who build me up in His truth and walk with me in His love—then when I am in other company, I can be an influence of truth and love on them. So not only is it essential to surround ourselves with friends who will call out our funk in love, but it is also very important that we do not choose our best buds to be people who are not walking with Jesus and are choosing to walk in their own funk.

God designed friends to be those who help you become who He has called you to be, and He wants you to help them become who He has called them to be too. We were made in the image of the God of relationships, and this is why we long for relationships. By seeking Christ together in our friendships, we will be like trees that are planted by streams of water. We will yield our fruit in season and our leaves will never wither, and whatever we do will prosper.