1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

That first sentence of this verse tells me to be serious. When I get to know people and make friends I have a tendency to relax and be myself. We should be honest with our friends with whom we have developed trust, respect and like thinking. We tend to gravitate to people who have the same likes and personality traits.

My accountability partner and I share the same sense of humor and we feed off each other. When we start creating these puns, we pun-ish our wives. We have been separated at the lunch table just because of it. There is no harm between us but the enemy is seeking to devour someone and it isn’t going to be us. It will be someone in close proximity to our jocularity.

Group settings are diverse in personality. Some you know better than others. How one person perceives and receives information may be different than that of one you know very well. Speaking to a dear friend in that relationship language has a tendency to make others feel excluded or cut off. Personal experiences allow us to relate in ways that are lost on others and it should not be that way.

One thing we tend to forget is that Satan isn’t afraid to come to church. While we are there to worship he is there to trip up those who feel cut off and separated. A lost sheep could very well be in our midst and we don’t even know it. There is nothing as lonely as feeling alone in a crowd. We all need connection and a sense of belonging. We all want to fit comfortably.

Take fellowship seriously, be sober, and be aware of others.