Dr. Lawrence Butler

The Bridge Church, Pembroke

My friend Billy lived 3 houses down from me. Playing together was a regular occurrence in that little southern neighborhood. We ran, we hid, we played games and had all sorts of fun. That is, until “that day.”

 That’s when he challenged me to jump out of the second-story window from the addition his dad was building onto their house. I was leery, but this was my friend and he said he did it. Fortunately for me, there was a soft remnant of sand left below the window that cushioned the landing. No broken leg, although there could have been.

I had other experiences with jumps and falls. A few years later another friend and I practiced jumping from heights using our professional tuck and roll maneuver. When I jumped from a neighbor’s back steps (they were two stories high), I got everything but the landing correct. Gravity pulled me down, my form was good, everything but that landing thing worked. My knee crashed into my eye socket. So much for the tuck and roll maneuver.

So many times we do things that are dangerous or destructive. We only do them because some “friend” encouraged us to participate, assuring us that he/she had already done this and how wonderful it was. The Apostle Paul said, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (I Cor. 15:33). If that seems hard to understand, try this translation. Don’t be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” How true! The friends you allow to influence you are critically important. You must choose good people to share life with or bad influences will destroy you. Avoid the wrong “crowd” as our parents used to tell us. By choosing good people, godly people, to impact your life decisions you have a much better chance at success and at being a child of God.

Attend church often, and become a participant in ministry, and watch these activities protect you from bad influences.

Some time ago I had a chance to travel a road in Alabama that crossed a creek. Those country boy friends of mine were known to jump off the bridge into the water. Well, when challenged I couldn’t afford to be viewed as “chicken,” so I jumped.

I could have broken my neck by doing something like this, just as I could have broken my legs years earlier when with Billy. Thankfully, God spared my legs, my neck, and my life. But don’t worry about me, I no longer accept challenges like that. Besides, a lot of my friends are crippled, disabled, deceased or just plain old. Boy, if you could just put an old man’s wisdom into a young man’s head you would really have something special!