THE COMPANY WE KEEP

In trying to come up with an idea for this week’s bulletin,
a thought entered my mind I’d like to share. I remember at an
early age being cautioned, “Be careful of the company you
keep.” I’m certain that when I was told this I was at a relatively
young age, and therefore wasn’t quite sure why such a caution
was necessary.

As a I have grown, the wisdom has become apparent
as to the necessity for the caution. The people we associate
with, especially those on a regular basis, can have an influence
on our own behaviors, whether good or bad. This saying (or
variations of it) has been around for a long time. Around 406
BC the Greek tragedy writer Euripides is quoted as saying “Every
man is like the company he is wont to keep,” the word “wont”
meaning accustomed to or in the habit of. In a more recent
variation, a political scientist by the name of Leonard Cole
stated it this way: “You are not responsible for what your friends
do, but you will be judged by the company you keep.”

I say all of this to remind us that God has given us
this particular caution in His word in both the Old and New
Testaments. As we look to the book of Proverbs, we read the
following: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the
companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). In the
fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul reminds us
“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (vs.
33). Therefore, may we take heed to the Lord’s words, and “Be
careful of the company we keep.”