Hi everyone I hope you are all fine by God’s grace and that your lent period has beginned in the smoothest way. Today’s post is about bad company.
1 Corinthians 15:33 New International Version (NIV)
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
In the last post we talked about the qualities of a true friend. Also, we illustrated the fact that people who willfully entice us into sin aren’t true servants of God and aren’t even our true friends. Let’s look at some verses which talk about company.
1.God wants us to avoid company with people who live in sin
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 KJV
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: [10] Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. [11] But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
Proverbs 24:1-2 NIV
Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.
We can’t totally isolate ourselves from the world, but we can distance ourselves from people who dwell in sin. Most importantly, concerning those in the church who profess Christ but who live in sin, we should avoid them, and separate ourselves from them. We can’t “change” everybody we hang around with, but we can decide not to hang around with people who would push us to change negatively and to disobey God.
In The Old Testament, Jews were ordered by God to stone to death other Jews who would encourage them to sin against Him, irrespective of whether those Jews were their siblings, friends, spouses etc etc.
Nowadays, we need not to stone anyone, but at least we have to separate ourselves from people who would push us to separate ourselves from God,and we should be even more strict towards so-called christians who hurt The Name of Christ by living a sinful life, and by advertising sin and pretending God is OK with their behavior.
2. Bad company destroys us
Proverbs 29:3 KJV
Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
When we keep evil company, we hurt ourselves both on the short run and on the long run (see Proverbs 5:1-10). Not only do we sin against God, but we bear consequences of those sins at times for our whole lives and possibly over generations after us.
In today’s world, we may not know exactly what to do with bad companies, we may think of changing them (this is the object of our next post), but in general we should avoid them.
What’s the best way to avoid bad company?
The answer is : pursuing good companies.
Finally, before throwing the first stone, let’s be humble enough to realize that at times we have asked or pushed people to sin against God (intentionally or unintentionally).
- Some of us have asked others to lie for us.
- Some of us have encouraged others to “never forgive” certain people who hurt them badly.
- Some of us have asked others to be hateful, mean, disrespectful towards others through our own bad example.
- Some of us have mocked other peoples’ decisions for The Lord and discouraged them saying it was “exaggerated” or “weird”.
- Some of us have brought our brethren Christians to places which destroyed their morals rather than building them.
- Some of us have professed Christ but behaved in ways which showed a bad example to others.
- Some of us have been ignorant of certain sins and instead of referring to The Bible to correct ourselves, we have insisted to do things our own way and misled others.
The list is in exhaustive, but its aim in general is to make us understand that though at times we are under the effect of bad company, some other times we happen to be the bad company to others.
Let’s therefore examine our lives and see where we set a bad example for other Christians and for people of the world in general, and ameliorate ourselves in The Lord.
Prayer
Eternal Lord, thank You for revealing to me today that I am not perfect. At times I make mistakes in choosing companies, and some other times I am the one setting a bad example for others who are in my company. Please Lord help me see where I act wrongly, and help me adjust myself. May Your Word and Your Holy Spirit transform me. Thank You Lord in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
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