Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Now that I’m a parent, I’m starting to understand better why parents care so much about what friends their children choose to associate with. Looking back on my youth, a lot of the rough edges of my personality were developed by a variety of my friends. Some I picked up sarcasm from, some I picked up some I picked up ego and attitude, and some I picked up a little bit of a wild side from. And that was from friends that I would consider pretty good kids.
Don’t get me wrong. Ultimately we are responsible for our actions and our family unit usually has a lot more to do with building values than our friends, but a lot of character building can happen away from home – for better or worse.
The same can hold true when we are adults as well. Your friends and associates can either lift you up or drag you down. Just ask LeBron James!