A Friend.  The word may be short and simple, but the idea is complicated.  A friend is one with whom you can confide and someone who can share your innermost secrets.  For persons to be friends there has to be a love for one another.  For teenagers a friend is important.  Because with this person, he or she is able to go places and do things together.  And during a teenager’s life many problems arise and someone is needed to listen to those problems.

But Christian Young People must choose the right friends.  Not those of the world, but those of like faith in Jesus Christ.  For if we yoke ourselves with these worldly people, bad things begin to happen.  Alcohol and/or drugs enter the scene and in order to stay friends with these people, the Christian teenager must accept these things and go along with them.

My own experience with my “friends” happened this way.  Day after day we would have so much fun together.  Then one day my friend pulls out from his pocket a joint.  My friend assured me before that he “would never use drugs”; and that is why this took me so much by surprise.

I did not smoke this joint with him nor did I rebuke him for doing wrong and walk away, which I should have done.  Instead I just stood there in amazement as he was enjoying this moment of “getting high.”

I saw that “friend” a couple days later and again he did the same thing.  Again I did not walk away as I should have.

After seeing that I did not like what he was doing and that I would not join him, he was reluctant to call me whenever he wanted to do something.  And to this day, he has yet to call me again and I do not miss hanging around with him either.

My fellow young people, choose your friends carefully.  Do not hang around with them just because you will then be in with the “A” crowd.  If they drink or use drugs, stay away from them because the only thing that will happen is that you will be dragged into their habit and into their sin.

But have fellowship with Christian young people and do the things which are right and pleasing in the sight of God.  Do not worry about what others say about you because of this, but be joyful in the fact that you are doing as the Lord hath commanded.