CHOOSE YOUR CIRCLE WISELY

Hey hey! Woods here! On day 23! Oh, we're really doing this thing. At this point, you all should already know that I am a Christian. I love the Lord and I try my best to live right. One thing I've noticed on this journey is that a lot of the social norms and "words to live by" are actually found in the bible... just worded differently. For example:

• "Treat others how you would want to be treated": So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets - Matthew 7:12"

• What goes around comes around": Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows - Galatians 6:7

• "Respect your elders": Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. - Exodus 20:12

Now there is one that I like a lot. Where I'm from people say "Birds of a feather flock together" Which is along the lines of being careful who you associate yourself with because eventually, you begin to be influenced by them. In the bible, it goes like this " Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” " 1 Corinthians 15:33 . This brings me to our lesson today :

CHOOSE YOUR CIRCLE WISELY

I'm going to tell you the sad truth about this lesson first. The sad truth is, that it is very difficult to get this 100% right every time. You will try your best to identify and form the tightest most secure circle, but the devil loves to break up unity, and unfortunately in our humanness, your circle may be infiltrated. But take heart, the good news is EVENTUALLY you will weed out your weak links. Now have grace for your friends, some mistakes are work-out-able, don't go ex-communication folks for small human mistakes. Love forgives. Love Restores. But try your best to choose your circle wisely.

Have you ever heard the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" ? Ok, I need us all to get on the same page for this to make sense. Can you all agree with me that we are all still children? I mean we've all grown up and have learned a few things, but as long as we are still alive, we are still learning and growing, and we are still Children of God, correct? OK. Now from the thought that we are all still children, the village we were raised in had a huge impact on who we are now. But, now that we are older, we have the ability to choose the village/s that we continue to grow up in. Our friends are a part of our village, our co-workers are in our village, and our church family, neighbors, and significant others are. We had a choice in those matters and now they are our chosen village. Now some people have closer contact with you in this village. Those people are able to speak life or death into your life. They can uplift you or bring you down. They can aid in the healing of your past traumas or add insult to injury. Even though we like to believe we are our own persona and we think for ourselves, we are actually influenced be our circle more than we'd like to acknowledge. That is why it is so important to choose them wisely.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR CIRCLE

• You have to decide what is important to you. For me Loyalty is big. I got to know that when push comes to shove, you're going to have my back. I don't have to worry about you doing anything shady. If someone comes and tells me that you did or said something wild pertaining to me, I should be able to stand ten toes down and say "There's no way." Communication is also big. I need you to communicate with me or be willing to learn how to communicate with me. What's important for you?

• Test of time. Wait. Time will help you tell who's truly in your circle. No one can pretend to be who they are not for too long. Eventually, they will show their cards.

• Pray. Pray and ask the Lord to show you. God knows His children and He knows who would be a great addition to your circle. He will help you see.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Choosing your circle wisely is important because it can drastically affect where you end up in life. I was watching a stand-up comedy video on Youtube by a comedian named Ali Sadiq. He tells a story of how he was about to commit murder while in prison. He speaks of these 2 other prisoners who were now his friends who stopped him in the nick of time. See had they been passive friends, he would now be serving life in prison and would not be out in the free world enjoying life and living his dream. If he had the wrong circle around him, if he had trusted the wrong people, they could have encouraged him to make this bad decision or simply not take the initiative of saving him from himself and stopping him from making a bad decision. The people you chose to let in will either lift you up or bring you down. Choose wisely. I'm still learning how myself. I thought I had it down... and then. Well, let's just say... I'm still working on it.

I love ya'll for reading, and I love ya'll for real!

- Woods

Lighting up the woods, one Syllable at a time