Saturday, 6 February 2021
Proverbs 24:1-22
"Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company…” – Proverbs 24:1
The key verse reads in The Living Bible: “Don’t envy godless men; don’t even enjoy their company.” A Christian can quite easily be misled by ungodly company if one doesn’t take care to define one’s life by the boundaries of God’s Word.
“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7) As God’s children, we are of the light. 2 Corinthians 6:14 reminds us: “So then what does light have to do with darkness? what does righteousness have to do with wickedness? What does believers have to do with unbelievers?” Companionship and close friendship with the evil-minded and unprincipled will corrupt the heart and morals of the godly. Often people try to strike a balance between the two but fail miserably. Light and darkness cannot go hand in hand. The Bible repeatedly warns believers that is impossible to serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24).
Again Romans 12:2 says, ”Do not conform to the pattern of this world!” Now why does the Bible keep reminding the same thought over and over again? 1 Peter 5:8 it says "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Failure to be on guard will lead to one's downfall.
Let’s look at an example in the life of Samson (set apart to the Lord) in Judges 16. Samson loved a woman whose name was Delilah. As the lords of Philistines approached her to bring Samson down, she agreed with them in exchange for money. Samson eventually fell for the trap by letting out his secret to her! This led to his downfall! he was seized, blinded and bound by the Philistines. Samson an anointed man of God was defeated! As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 ... "Bad company corrupts good character." We ought to be careful the paths and the kinds of people we choose to walk with. If it causes us to deviate from God we are expected to refrain from it.
On the other hand, the desire to be with godly people will help you grow closer to God. In the story of the paralyzed man, He was carried by some men on a mat and they tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus (Mark 2).
When we have surrendered our lives to Jesus and have agreed to walk a life acceptable to God we need to take measures to ensure we do not deviate from the paths we chose to take or the people we chose to be with it. Ephesians 5:15 [NLT] exhorts us: “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help us to keep off bad company that can corrupt us. Instead help us to set our minds on things that would bring us closer to you each day. In Jesus name, Amen.