Rubbing Off On You
With whom do you spend your time? Think about this
carefully because the people you choose to hang out with can have a dramatic
effect on your spiritual health, your relationship with God, and your future.
It has been said, “Show me a person’s company, and I will show you the person.”
Let me know the company he keeps,
and I shall easily guess his moral character.
Choose your companions
wisely. Here in Proverbs 13, we are told that “Whoever walks with the wise,
becomes wise.” If you keep company with others who fear the Lord, and you spend
time talking with them about spiritual things, and walk together with them in
the ways of the Lord, then their good qualities will begin to “rub off on you.”
Your spiritual life will improve by keeping wise company. Hang out with
spiritually mature people, and you will begin to mature spiritually.
The opposite is also true,
as we read in the second half of this verse, “The companion of fools will
suffer harm.” The Apostle Paul confirmed this truth in 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Be
not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good morals." If you spend time
with those who are not walking in the fear of the Lord, but rather follow
worldly and fleshly pursuits, watch out! Your spiritual life will decline by keeping
foolish company. Their values and morals will begin to “rub off on you,” and you
run the risk of becoming like them. The end result of being a companion of
fools is you will “suffer harm.” The King James Version puts this much more
bluntly – “a companion
of fools shall be destroyed.” And, that is the reality - following unwise and carnal people will
ultimately lead you away from God and bring eternal harm to your soul.
This doesn’t mean you
should disown your unsaved friends and family. After all, how will they call on
the Lord if they haven’t heard of Him? And how are they to hear if you don’t
tell them? You should be intent on preaching Christ to them and influencing
them for God’s kingdom. Who knows, perhaps by God’s grace you will “rub off" on
them?
Just make sure that
your “companions” are those who follow Christ and walk in His ways. Their spirituality and wisdom will rub off on
you.
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