Month: May 2007

Choose Your Friends Wisely!

The 2007-2008 school year will be starting soon! I want to give you students an important piece of advice: choose your friends wisely!

“Show me a man’s friends and I’ll tell you who he is”
-unknown

I’m not sure who authored this quote, but I agree with it. When I think back to my student days I realize that my friends had a tremendous influence over me. They influenced who I was and how I behaved (good or bad). When I think about “high points” or “low points” in my life, a lot of it has to do with who I surrounded myself with at the time.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalm 1. Here’s how it starts:

God blesses those people
who refuse evil advice
and won’t follow sinners
or join in sneering at God.
-Psalm 1:1 (Contemporary English Version)

Let’s also look at what Jesus did as he began his public ministry:

Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so that they could be with him. . . .
-Mark 3:14 (Contemporary English Version)

One of the first things Jesus did was to choose his barkada.* Jesus was know for associating with “sinners,” yet he carefully chose his “inner circle”—those he would spend most of his time with. I find it interesting that they were chosen so they could “be with him.” Yes, they would be taught and trained, but they would also be his friends. Jesus, in fact, would later call them his friends (see John 15:13-15)

This importance of friendship is especially true for students/teenagers. For my student readers, I want you to know that choosing good friends is more important now than it ever will be. Right now you are especially vulnerable to the influence of your friends (I think this is especially true for Filipinos, who are naturally family/group oriented). I’ve seen students do interesting things in order to please their friends. Some fraternities will brawl over who gets to sit on a certain part of campus. Some activist groups will spend more time protesting the school dress code than studying. Think carefully before joining a barkada, group or organization!

This new school year means new beginnings. You’ll have opportunities to make new friends and reconnect with old ones. Choose wisely! When you choose your friends, you are indirectly choosing your own habits, character, and destiny.

*For my non-Filipino readers, I’ll attempt to explain “barkada.” This word is a beautiful Filipino concept with no exact English translation. It is a cultural, social friendship group in Filipino culture. Virtually all Filipinos (especially students) are part of a barkada—a group of friends that they associate with and spend time with.

Isaiah 29–Can God See in the Dark?


Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
-Isaiah 29:15

I imagine that most of us have seen night vision goggles on television or in the movies. This technology began several years ago, but has now developed into something remarkable. Night vision is now frequently used by the US military. The reason is simple–the ability to see in the dark is a significant advantage, and enemies may attempt to use the cover of night to their own advantage. Everything from lions to soldiers use darkness to secretly launch attacks.

Darkness is often used in the Bible to symbolize evil or spiritual blindness (see the first chapter of John’s gospel). Isaiah is also using “darkness” in a figurative sense here.

As I’ve mentioned before, the people of Isaiah’s day wanted to have the appearance of obeying God, but they did not want to truly honor Him with their lives. God was calling out those who acted one way when they were “in the light” (visible to everyone), yet acted completely differently when they were “in the darkness” (when they thought they were hidden).

I gave this devotional a rather ridiculous title (or a ridiculous question). Our behavior, however, can be just as ridiculous. If we are not careful, we can easily forget that God sees us at all times. Not only does He see everything we do, he even “sees” into our minds and hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

Here’s a few questions that I would like you to consider (I ask myself similar questions, too):

*Are you the same person even when your parents are not watching you?

*Do you have a “secret” life that others do not know about?

*Do you entertain thoughts that are dishonoring to God?

The fact that God is watching us should not be considered as something negative. He invites us to be aware of His presence every moment. The fact that He sees us can bring great joy. God notices an act of kindness, for example, even if no one else noticed or bothered to say “thank you.”

We should always be living for an audience of one. He sees everything–I pray that we will try to live in such a way as to bring honor and glory to Him.

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
-Ecclesiastes 12:13-14