How to act around friends

Not alot t of friends I know really talk about God in school. I guess most of the friends I hang with joke alot about stuff. I'm used to joking with them about stuff, but I'm not sure if I'm being really authentic, because what I'm really interested is getting as close as I could with God, and I don't know if I might be conforming to the world and turning away from God. I like some movies and reference them for jokes, but sometimes I feel like I try to get attention to much and make crude jokes that take me away from God. Sometimes I just want to be alone because I don't want to try to make offensive jokes and be too much of an attention seeker. I don't really have any personal friends I talk to in real life, so other than jokes, I feel lost about what to say, and I just act silent and think of God. Knowing how to act, and knowing who to be friends with gets REALLY confusing....

Hi Michael, I get how you feel it is certainly difficult sometimes to know how we should act. I struggled with this when I started my new job, many people there are quite crude.
Just know that we are not called upon to separate ourselves from non-believers instead you should strive to be an example for them and who knows you may be able to share the good news with them.
Obviously there are limits to this like you shouldn’t marry a non-believer that would only lead to headaches down the line and certainly if you feel that some of these friendships that you have are toxic then I would break them off. But try to change your behaviour first before doing that. Don’t separate yourself from the world, instead be an example.
Best of luck and God bless.

Well remember it is a sin to lie and if you are not being true to ones self then you are moving yourself away from god. What i would say is to act how you truly feel and act in accordance to god , you may lose friends unfortuantly but if those friends cannot accept you for what you are then it is their loss. What you will gain though is a truly amazing relationship with god and this is the best thing that you can have in the world.

I just wanted to say that I became interested in Christianity not through the bible teaching, but how my friends at school didn't do certain stuff and were always loving. I think the key thing is to be loving to people who haven't heard of the gospel. It will soon make other people ask a question like why are you so loving in bad situations, then you can tell them about how much Jesus love us!

Welcome to cc! Blessings on your journey here!

Hi M1chael, old lady here, crossing the lines between forums, I hope you don't mind. I really respect your interest and commitment to God, very admirable in a teenager. You should not turn away from your true interest, instead, push toward it. God loves you and will always be your friend. I hope you are attending a good church, reading your Bible, and praying. If you are not already, you should attend the youth group and Sunday School, that's where I found my closest friends in high school because we had that common interest. Alone time is good too, it helps us unwind, and get to know ourselves better, we all need some of that. At school and other activities, you should just be yourself, do what makes you happy, comfortable, feel good about yourself. Be kind to those around you, help others if given a chance, be friendly toward those you see are lonely (and sometimes we are lonely in a crowd). Those are great ways to seek attention and establish some new friendships. Apparently jokes are your thing...nothing wrong with that, you bring laughter to others. But look for jokes that are not crude, offensive, or dirty. You might check out some joke books. If you clean up your act, you might be surprised to start making friends that are more like the real you, the one that is interested in God.

Don't be afraid to make your commitment to God visible around people your age who are only interested in the things of this world. Jesus said that a light should not be covered with a basket but put in a visible place for all to see. Let people hate you for loving God, they hate you because you shine His light revealing their evil lifestyles. It is a great honor to live as a witness to God's greatness in this way, the more people hate you the better, because God says you will surely be greatly rewarded for this.

Know, Grow Love, Serve and Share.

Our purpose as a Christian is to
Know God
Grow in God
Love God and others
Serve God by serving others
Share God or the Gospel

This is the example of a perfect relationship with God and relationships in general for a Christian.

If our friends are not trying to follow these 5 points then we must be very cautious with our time spent with these individuals. Because if the individual is not following these 5 points and encouraging you also then that individual will only pull you away from your purpose.

There is always a time and place to share the Gospel. Your life in Christ must be boldly evident so that everyone knows where your lines are drawn in the sand. Your boundaries are set and your secular friends know that you will walk away if your line is about to be crossed.

This way by their actions they will choose rather or not they want to be influenced by you or remain influenced by others. So you will mostly share the Gospel with your actions and these actions will spark a opportunity to speak about what makes your life so different.

Check out the churches in your area that has medium size youth groups to hang out with.
There are lots of clean joke sites online. Around people be polite and wise.
Study the book of Proverbs.

A good joke is something unexpected you say. Check your local library for Christian humor DVDs and for clean joke books.