The need for discernment in even our closest relationships …

Did you know in our modern times that who your friends are might have an affect on your credit rating?

At least, who your “internet friends” are, that is.

That’s because some credit agencies are now using the information gleaned from your social media contacts to determine their risk of doing business with you. Katie Lobosco reports the following for CNNMoney:

A handful of tech startups are using social data to determine the risk of lending to people who have a difficult time accessing credit. Traditional lenders rely heavily on credit scores like FICO, which look at payments history. They typically steer clear of the millions of people who don’t have credit scores.

But some financial lending companies have found that social connections can be a good indicator of a person’s creditworthiness. One such company, Lenddo, determines if you’re friends on Facebook (FB) with someone who was late paying back a loan to Lenddo. If so, that’s bad news for you. It’s even worse news if the delinquent friend is someone you frequently interact with.

It does appear that using social media data to assess credit risk is in the early stages of going mainstream. Kreditech is now selling such technology to lenders in Russia and the Czech Republic.

Who our friends are have always had its impact in different ways, yet we often don’t think much about it. When a close friend thinks something is so important that they nearly campaign to sell their point, we often believe them just because they are a friend and easily give sway to their influence. But regardless of how close a friend someone is, we need to practice discernment regarding their influence in our lives. Sometimes without proper thoughtfulness and prayerfulness, a friend can be used to do the bidding of Satan himself! Take this example between Jesus and one of his closest friends, a guy named Peter. It starts with Jesus unfolding what will happen in the near future …

“From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead,” Matthew 16:21.

Peter didn’t like what he heard. Not because he had better or greater insight. Actually, from a position of ignorance, Peter tried to persuade Jesus to a different way of thinking …

“But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’” Matthew 16:22.

Look at Jesus’ assessment of the behavior of his close friend …

“Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” – Matthew 16:23.

It’s not uncommon that friends who develop an opinion about our lives do so with thinking that is only from a human point of view, not from God’s. Such influence must be rebuffed, as it is as much a trap to us as Peter’s opinion was to Jesus.

Even the best of friends who genuinely love us can let selfishness creep into their motives and attempt to restrain the spiritual formation of others to their own level. Yes, the best of friends can sometimes attempt to keep you down at their own level. Have you ever had a friend tell you that it’s nice that you’re religious and all, but you’re going too far? Caring too much? Doing too much? Giving too much? Just too serious about your faith or “taking things too far”? Just because they are friends doesn’t mean we should unthinkingly yield to their influence; instead, it’s important that we practice discernment even with our closest friends.

And even with our family.

Again, let’s look at an example from the life of Jesus …

“One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. ‘He’s out of his mind,’ they said,” Mark 3:20.

During the earthly life of Jesus, at times the people who knew Him best and loved Him most would have been key stumbling blocks had He yielded to their influence. Friends and family members sometimes allow familiarity to blind them to what God is doing in the life of loved ones. Jesus experienced this …

“Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family,'” Mark 6:1-4.

Great friendship and the love of family are not grounds for suspending discernment regarding the influence of others. Like Jesus, we need to determine whether the attempted influence and manipulations of others comes only from human thinking, or whether it’s based on God’s view of things.

Scotty