BFFs and frenemies are one of the best...and worst...things about being a teen. What you might not realize is that they're also possibly one of the highest risks you'll ever face. Why? Because it may seem like those never-ending text conversations and tweets back and forth are trivial rumblings, but they aren't! They're influencing everything from mental health, to career paths, to how you approach relationships with guys. Here are three things you need to ask yourself about your friendships if you value sexual purity.
1.) Do you spend most of your time commiserating? If you don't know, commiserating means being miserable together. That's what you do when the texts and Snapchats flying back and forth revolve around everything that's wrong in your life. Research reveals that focusing on the bad stuff all the time tends to lead to depression. And depression tends to raise the risk of teen sex. (Let's be honest, we don't make good decisions when we're depressed. Whether it's eating a pint of ice cream right out of the bucket or hooking up.)
2.) Do you share the same values? Hanging out with friends who believe sex is just a fun physical act won't help you live out the biblical value of treasuring sex as an exclusive gift to be shared between a man and a wife. The Bible says that she "who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." (Proverbs 13:20)
3.) Are your friends on the boy-crazy train? If they are, it's going to be kind of hard not to jump on it. If you jump on the boy-crazy train in middle school, you're likely to have lots of relationships that get serious before you even finish high school. That increases any risk you have to losing your sexual integrity. Consider convincing your friends to jump off the boy-crazy train before you bail on them, but don't be afraid to take the dive alone if you have to.