Are Your Friends Making You Better or Bitter?

Have you ever left a group of friends or co-workers and thought, "I feel yucky." Perhaps the time together was spent tearing others down, gossiping, and complaining to the point that the only result is a feeling of superiority, smugness and....ewwww...self-righteousness.

Perhaps it is time to think twice about how much time you spend in the company of others.

I'm extremely fortunate to have a stellar cast of characters I call my friends. When we get together, we simply enjoy each other's company.

Sometimes we lapse into gossip. It's so easy to fall into that snare. Every now and then, we catch ourselves and change topics. Regardless, it doesn't feel good to bad mouth others. My group of friends generally pushes me to become a better person inside and out. I think more, move more and have a lot of fun.

Proverbs tells us that this has been the case for ages - do not lie down with the pigs or you will get up smelling like them. God wants us to think wisely about who we spend our time with and how we spend it. He knows what is best for us - more than we ourselves do.