THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

 

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Recently when I gave a ride to a neighbor I have been acquainted with for a few years he reached for a cigarette and I said I don’t want anyone smoking in my truck. He responded with “you used to smoke!” and then seemed a little surprised when I told him that is why I don’t want anyone smoking in my truck. I am not condemning anyone who smokes, but while I have been tobacco-free for a long time I realize that, while there were other factors involved, when I quit for a long time in the past too much time around friends smoking increased the temptation to pick up the habit again.

Some time back a former homosexual shared with me that for a short while after he was born again, he thought he could have platonic friendships with former lovers, but soon realized that he had to limit contact to witnessing.

Whether you are trying to avoid bad habits or stay morally clean, it is important to keep in mind that the company you keep has a tremendous impact on your conduct and attitudes. A few Bible characters come to mind whose lives illustrated the importance of being careful about the company you keep.

Read chapter 34 of Genesis and consider: What made Shechem assume that Dinah was available to him for fornication? Why did Shechem assume that Dinah would yield to his advances and why wasn't Dinah offended or resistant to Shechem's advances ("Took" in verse 2 implies that he petted or fondled her, and the wording and context of Genesis 34:2 indicate that this was consensual fornication and not rape.)? What made Shechem assume that Dinah's family would not be offended by his actions? Why did Hamor assume that Dinah's family would not be offended by Shechem's actions? What made Shechem assume that Dinah's family would willingly consent to let him marry her? “And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.” (Genesis 34:1) The problem started with the company she kept.

There were unmarried women among God's people available to Samson, but Samson preferred heathen women. (Judges 14:1-3) Of the three women Samson was romantically involved with, all three were heathens, two of them were prostitutes, and the other behaved like a prostitute. What led to this? Back then it was customary for a groom to have a feast ("throw a party") and invite his closest friends to celebrate his wedding with him, and the choice of guests said something about Samson: Samson's closest friends were all heathens. (Judges 14:10-11) Samson could have spared himself from a lot of grief by listening to his parents and by being careful about the company he kept. (Proverbs 6:20-25; 13:20)

Examine yourself honestly and prayerfully. Do you enjoy the fellowship of dedicated believers, or do you tend to be indifferent or unfriendly toward dedicated believers but gravitate to worldly and ungodly associations? “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.” (Psalm 119:63)