Quote Originally Posted by sport_122
but my point is that people don't hang out with people and then become like those people, they are seeking those types of people because thats who they already are. However, in the church we mostly see this gap closed. Sadly, the american culture has influenced us enough that the same gap goes right back in place as soon as the doors of the worship house open.

So if anything I see this type of relationship as more conducive to a happy life.
Could be possible that you are who your peers already are but what if you're still trying to find who you are? People getting mixed in with the "wrong crowd" or girls dating a guy that is really a polar opposite. Sober friends who socialize with drunks. A rich man can hang out in the ghetto so long as he plays the part. A poor man pretending to be rich (happens all the time: Con men). (was thinking about Disney's Aladdin, princess sneaking off to be a commoner)

Yes, it is in the church that we see the gap close but though from different walks of life, they share the common ground: church. So though many may be of a different feather (birds) they still fly south. (though we don't notice it here as much as you would in the North )