How Influences Can Effect Your Path
We are called out of darkness and into the light so why would we ever want to go back to walking in darkness again? That’s exactly what we do when we walk with fools who are headed to suffer harm. Sooner or later, walking in the darkness of the world with the world will cause us to stumble and fall. We can end up paying the same penalty as the lost do if we continue to walk with them. I would rather hang around those who are wise in the hopes of learning from them than walk with those who are headed for eventual harm.
We tend to become more like those we hang around with and no more so than when running with the unsaved of the world. They can ruin our godly morals and ruin our judgment very quickly and we can be deceived if we’re not careful. It’s so much harder to resist temptation to sin when those around you are already doing it. You’re the round peg in a square hole in those instances so why try to fit it where you’re not supposed to?
1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler — not even to eat with such a one.”
This is as clear as it can be. We’re not to associate with those who are law breakers and committing sins such as sexual immorality but also drunkenness, swindling, and those who are consumed with greed and pride. Paul thinks that this type of bad company could corrupt the Christians into sinning in similar fashion. We must not associate with them, meaning that they shouldn’t be our best friends who we run around with.
I know that I am not anywhere close to perfect and never will be in this life but I do know enough to not hang around with certain people. It seems that some people are just destined to run into harm. They are a bad influence on their friends and they often convince them to do things that are contrary to common sense. If there is anything I hope you could learn it would be that “Bad company ruins good morals”.
Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.“
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