Always Abounding - Spring 2021

man, when thou perceivest not in
him the lips of knowledge” (Proverbs
14:7). “I will set no wicked thing
before mine eyes” (Psalm 101:3). I’ve
unfollowed or even blocked some
people because of these verses.
Sometimes, it’s when I’ve friended a
parent of a child who comes on the
bus to church. There have even been
times where I’ve had to block them
because of porn or vileness on their
page.
“But avoid foolish questions….
A man that is an heretick after the
first and second admonition reject”
(Titus 3:9-11).
Don’t argue with
someone who just wants to argue. I
do “contend for the faith,”
but I’m
not going to waste time on people
who just want to argue. However, the
thought continues even further in that
I need to reject a person who is an
heretic. For example, I shouldn’t be
friends with a gay person or a person
who openly fights against God, etc.
“The way of the wicked seduceth
them”
(Proverbs 12:26). It’s hard for
me to think that there are people
who want to seduce people away
from the faith. However, I’m kidding
myself if I don’t face that fact. I’ve
seen many, many young people
pulled away from their parents and
God by a person, who Christ and Paul
described in Matthew 7 and Acts 20
as a wolf. These people usually hunt
in packs. They look and talk like they
are spiritual, but their whole aim in life
is to pull or seduce kids away from
their “strict” upbringing. They would
love to “save” them from their strict
church. Before the Internet, when
someone abandoned their godly
upbringing or left their church and
friends, it was much harder for them to
have influence over the young people
in the church. Not today. They can be
found in an instant. BEWARE!
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man
sharpeneth the countenance of his
friend”
(Proverbs 27:17). If I see
something questionable on Facebook
or Instagram, I privately write or
message the person. I’ve lost some
friends, but I’ve also gained better
friendships as well.
“Faithful are the wounds of a
friend; but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Beware
of flattery. “Be wise as serpents and
harmless as doves.”
Don’t be fooled
by a flatterer and don’t substitute
Facebook friends for a friend who sees
and knows you.
“The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9). Don’t
trust your heart. Don’t like, follow,
or friend someone because of your
heart. Make decisions according to
what is right and what is wrong—what
God says is right and wrong (not your
heart).
“What? know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
4 | ALWAYS ABOUNDING