Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise shall be wise, but a companion with fools shall be destroyed.
Proverbs 22:24, 25 Make no friendship with an angry man; and you shall not go up with a man of fury, lest you learn his ways and get a snare to your soul.
God created us to be sociable people. He created in us the desire to have friends. We want to be liked and accepted, so we find people who have something in common with us and strike up friendships with them. There is nothing wrong with this behavior. It is the way God created us. It only becomes a problem when we are not careful about who we choose as our friends and who we choose to spend a lot of time with. Our desire to be accepted and liked is so strong that we will unconsciously change our behavior to match those who we want to be accepted by.
If a person, who is well-mannered in their speech, starts spending time around people who are frequently telling indecent jokes and using profanity will soon find themselves the odd duck in the group. Without realizing it, they will start laughing at the jokes. They might not repeat the jokes, but by laughing at them they are showing approval of the jokes. And as for the profanity, it won't be long before they don't even notice it anymore. The opposite is also true. If someone, who is not careful with their speech or humor, starts spending time with people who speak wisely and carefully will soon find that their humor and swearing isn't accepted by those around them. After a while they will quit telling those jokes and stop swearing. The reason they stop is because they want to be accepted by the people they are around. They're uncomfortable when the others show their disapproval of the distasteful joke and swearing. People want to be accepted and it's usually the minority that changes to fit in with the majority.
I think the worst and most insidious type of person to spend time with is the gossiper. They can do such terrible and long-lasting damage. In Proverbs 20:19 it says, “A revealer of secrets walks about as a gossip, so do not meddle with him who opens his lips wide.” This is a person that is not safe to spend time with or to even listen to. This is also not someone to have join you in prayer over sensitive matters. This type of person will not only tell everyone what is said, they will also add or twist the facts a bit to make it more interesting. They have a way of slipping gossip into the conversation and snaring a person into their tales without the person realizing it until the damage has been done and someone's reputation has been destroyed.
It is a wise person who lets God guide them in their choice of friends and close relationships. It's too easy to let our desire to be liked cause us to be led astray. Last April, when I started this study on social skills I had said, “Life is not a popularity contest. What is important is that we're living the life God wants for us.” I still believe that statement. God's word is our guide. Our lives should be devoted to serving Him, therefore our close friends should also have the same goal. It might make us the minority on this earth, but if we are walking with God, we are walking with the Majority. He is the Ruler of the Universe and He loves us and accepts us like no one else ever will or can.