BAD COMPANY AND CHARACTER

BAD COMPANY AND CHARACTER

I Cor. 15:33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for bad company corrupts good character.  NLT

       Bad company corrupts good character.  We need to come to grips with this truth.  We become victims of the company we keep.  We tend to adapt ourselves to the standards of the company we keep.  Rather than jeopardize friendships, we fail to live by what we know to be true while we are with them.  We go along with things that we know we shouldn’t.  We begin to talk similar to the way they talk.  We often develop similar attitudes they have about people and things.  We find it far more comfortable to hide our light under a bushel instead of letting it shine.

       We need to be discerning about this.  We need to befriend sinners, but we dare not let sinners drag us down into compromising our faith.  We need to be careful how deep of a friendship we allow ourselves to develop with sin-controlled people.  We need to pay attention to what they say and not be persuaded by things we know to be contrary to the truth.

      Surround yourself with people who will support and encourage you in your faith.  You need people in your life that you can have heart fellowship with, people who you can talk freely to about the things of the Lord.  For your soul’s sake, invest your heart in those people who will edify your soul and not tear it down.

     Softening one’s convictions often is so subtle that one scarcely notices it is happening.  It is so easy to surround yourself with people who do not have strong, if any faith.  We need to never forget today’s warning: bad company corrupts good character.