“Sarah, I was at the football game tonight and Robin was with Kara and her group of friends the whole time.” I considered what Susan had just said, and I knew it wasn’t a good sign.
Robin was a good friend of ours and Kara was not a positive influence on Robin. The more they hung out, the more rebellious Robin became. I knew it was not going to be a recipe for Robin’s success.
As you get into your teenage years, some of your friends will start making decisions that will bring negative consequences into their lives. No one wants this for someone they care about and in today’s post, I want to share three signs that your friend may be headed down a destructive path.
1) Negative influences
The more time someone spends around negative influences, the more negative their life will become, which can eventually be destructive. Negative influence in the teenage years could take on a wide scope of things. Sometimes it could be a romantic relationship, a new group of friends, or even excess time spent on “negative” media.
An important truth to remember is “You are who you hang around.” If you allow negative influences into your life, it have negative effects.
2) Behavior Changes
Our emotions may change from day to day, but our behavior is the overarching way we act, which is generally consistent. Changes in behavior are also a sign that something is going wrong.
Did you friend used to be happy and now they seem depressed? Did they used to be involved in school and now they’re not? Are they spending more and more time withdrawn? Or, on the opposite end, are they becoming more rebellious and reckless?
A negative change in behavior is almost always a red flag of a deeper issue. Be sure to check on your friend to see what it is going on. Your intervention may help them from something destructive. We will discuss how to do this in the next post.
3) Extended absences from church or Christian related events
If your friend is a Christian and you notice they are habitually absent from church, or something similar, it is not a good sign. If your friend is drifting into sin, they will not want to be around you or any other Christian because they feel conviction about their actions. Even if you never say anything to them about it, they feel it and will begin avoiding you and anything else that makes them feel conviction.
In another scenario, your friend may be struggling with something that isn’t necessarily sin that is keeping them from church. Always be sure to check on them if you see this happening.
In Closing
How do you help your friend from going down a destructive path? So glad you asked! Check out the post below:
Thank you for reading and I hope you are able to help your friend.
With love,
-Sarah
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