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“And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:30 

In 2 Samuel 13 you will find the story of Amnon. Amnon was the son of David and over time he fell in love with Tamar, his half sister. The Bible says, “Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he made himself sick. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.” He was a godly king’s kid and he knew it wasn’t right to act on his lust outside of marriage and to Amnon’s credit, he did resist the urge for a good while. Though the urges raged in him, he was not raised that way. He was raised in a palace with a father who had “a heart after God.” But then something shifted in him. Something influenced him into the wrong mindset. 

The Bible says, “But Amnon had a friend.” He had a crafty friend whose name was Jonadab. Jonadab gave Amnon some advice that changed his mindset and ultimately changed his future. He said to him (paraphrased), “Why would the son of a king walk around sick with desire when he can have whatever he wants?” Then Jonadab concocted a plan for Amnon to fulfill his desires. So Amnon proceeded with the plan and pretended to be sick and then had her come into his bedroom to serve him a meal. As Tamar was serving him the meal, he grabbed her and despite her pleas that he would marry her first, he raped her. 

Show me your friends and I will show you your future.

One of the most heinous sins in the Bible was committed because of one reason. Amnon had not chosen his friendships wisely. His whole moral compass and mindset was changed by this ungodly friendship. Tamar’s life was ruined. She lived in desolation and was never able to get married or have a family. Amnon hated her after the incident because she reminded him of the evil that was inside of his heart so he would not marry her. Then Amnon was eventually killed by Tamar’s brother because of what he did. So many lives were wrecked because of a decision to have bad friendships. 

1 Corinthians 15:33 warns us, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” Amnon started hanging out with the wrong people and it cost him everything. In his time of weakness, he was given horrible advice. If he had been in the company of a godly friend they would have told him, “Let’s pray about it and then go talk to the king. Let’s do this thing right. The king will let you marry her. Don’t sin against God. It’s not worth it.” The Bible says if something causes you to sin, cut it off. Are there friendships that you need to cut off? It may be hard to do, but it will be worth it to gain Christ. They may be a big part of your life right now, but no one is worth losing your soul. Nobody should have more influence over you than Jesus and if a friend’s voice is contradicting God’s voice, it’s time to let them go.

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