If I could give just one piece of advice to someone, it would be to be careful who you hang around with. I wasn't, and now I'm in prison because I got talked into doing some things that I knew were wrong. Maybe you can help someone by passing this along. — K. McF.

Thank you for your letter - and for your concern that others not make the same mistakes you did. We don't always learn from the mistakes of others - but we should, because we won't always escape from the traps that snared them.

The pressures from people around us can be very intense, and if we aren't alert we can be swept along before we even realize it. Why is this? One reason is because we all like to be liked - and because of that, we find it hard to resist the crowd and go a different way. Why follow the crowd if it's going the wrong way? The Bible warns, "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. ... The way of the wicked is like deep darkness" (Proverbs 4:14-15, 19).

But there's another reason why we find it hard to do what is right. The reason is because our hearts are not in tune with God. We want to live for ourselves instead of Christ - and as a result, we ignore His moral laws and leave Him out of our lives. But when we do, we pay a very steep price.

Has this happened to you? Perhaps it has - but don't stay on that road any longer. God loves you in spite of what you've done, and Christ wants to forgive you and set your feet on a new path. Open your heart to His transforming power today.