Should Christians be friends with unbelievers?

Should Christians be friends with unbelievers? I was recently asked why I was friends with a person who was not a Christian. I feel that this can be a big question. I am going to share with you my beliefs on this, as well as what the Bible says.


Remember how your parents always told you,"Choose your friends wisely"? Well, this is very important. We should choose people who walk in Christ, who are godly, and share the same ideas as us as our close friends. Notice how I said close. Close friends are the people we enjoy sharing time with. They are also the people who can influence us tremendously. If you're close friends with someone who does things that do not reflect God, chances are  you'll start becoming like them.  "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"--2 Corinthians 6:14. 


According to a post from www.revelation.co, there are three things that can happen to a relationship between a believer and an unbeliever (I have put this into my own words): 
       
1) The Christian will compromise his beliefs with the unbeliever, therefore taking on the unbeliever's ideas on the world, or giving up his faith.


2) The unbeliever will become a Christian or compromise his beliefs with the Christian's beliefs. 


3) Both the Christian and the unbeliever will hold on to what they believe, causing the friendship to be distanced.




Now about the friends/acquaintances. We are to be a light to those who do not know God. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."--Matthew 5:16. We want to influence them instead of them influencing us. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, and of course, the Pharisees questioned Him on it. This is what He said:


"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means:'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not came to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  


If we are to be like Jesus, then shouldn't we be friends to those who need Him? Sure, we can think we're better, put the whole Holier Than Thou attitude into act. But that is not how we are supposed to be as Christians. Remember how Christ died for ALL, and we're sinners. We didn't deserve to be saved, not at all. We should have compassion for those who are in need of help. I like how a post in www.bible.org puts this idea:


"Christ was on a mission to reconcile the world to Himself. He had both unbelieving friends and believing friend. He sought to win the lost and to disciple the won. There was a great balance in his ministry. If you want to follow Christ’s example, associate with all those in need. The Kingdom will be here soon. Let us keep our focus straight. The one thing we will not be able to do in heaven is to bring an unbeliever to Christ. Let us have unbelieving friends." 


Therefore, let us be a light to the unbelievers. Let us befriend them, tell them the Good News, be there for them. No, we don't have to be close friends, eating lunch together everyday, calling or texting every hour. Our main goal is to live for Christ. No matter what anyone says, remember how Jesus was friends with the unbelievers. Our Savior! Our Lord! Our God! 


I believe that God has placed many of us into friendships with unbelievers so that they may turn to Him. Let us be ready for questions that might be fired at us, difficult situations, or hard times. Being a Christian isn't easy, and I'm not saying I'm some goody-goody person who's flawless. No, I am a sinner just like everyone, but Christ saved me. I have been given a new life! Let us plant those seeds in someone's life, giving them the opportunity to walk with God. 


Blessings to all!
--Viviana

My homeschooling family

Well, I'm sure many people out there think that homeschoolers are kids who are academically ahead by three years, don't have any friends, and act weird. This might be true for some homeschoolers, but as for my friends and I--we are not like that... One of the questions I always get is the following: "Do you get to wear pajamas all day?" And the answer is no. My mom doesn't allow my siblings and I to wear pajamas all day. Sure, some homeschoolers probably do wear pajamas all day. And the other thing I always hear is,"If I were homeschooled, I could play video games all day!" Totally not true. We have school work to do just like any public schooler. Sometimes we don't have a lot of school work to do, and sometimes we do have a lot. It also depends on how the parents want things to run. In my family, there are tremendous ways to do school, not just stick-to-the-book learning. Sometimes we do math by helping mom bake or cook, which obviously includes measuring and fractions. Or we do English by writing a play to film. Of course, there are also those families who like the stick-to-the-book idea. I am the eldest in my family, so I was the first one my mom had to teach. For some many years, she wanted me to complete the entire chapters and pages in the work books. But then she discovered that homeschooling doesn't have to be like that. As a homeschooling family, our main goal was to be different from the public schools, which meant we didn't always have to complete work books. 


 And I bet some people wonder Why does your family homeschool? Well, to answer that, I would say it is because my parents want to have a big part in my life, as well as my siblings' life. They want to be able to teach us about living, about God, about things that public schools don't teach. They want us to be fully equipped for anything when we're older. They want us to have godly characters, and that can only come from parents teaching their children. 


Now the things about having "no friends."  We're not just shy little homeschoolers who are so shy that they have zero friends. We do have to seek out friendships, but that's not hard, is it? We sometimes get together with other homeschooling families and hang out. We have friends from church, and we continue to meet more people. 


So have you changed your mind about homeschoolers? Do you see things different? Or do you still thing that we have "no life"? I'll tell you that I have a great life! I have a fun, caring family, some friends that I enjoy talking to, and most of all: I have God! With God, all things are possible. If you still have any questions about homeschoolers, feel free to ask me. 


Until my next post,
--Viviana

Welcome!

Welcome! I wanted to create this blog so people can see what a homeschooled high school girl lives like. I want people to get over those stereotypes and see what a real homeschooler does. I want to share what God has taught me over the past year(s). I want to give glory to God through writing. Check back to see what I'll write!

Until next time,
--Viviana


My music/filming blog: www.thingsbyvivianarodriguez.blogspot.com