BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD CHARACTER
S - Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Corinthians 15:33
S - Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Corinthians 15:33
O - Bad company corrupts good character. Being in the presence of people with questionable morals or behaviour, hanging around with them for long periods of time, becoming a companion to somebody who is bad, will have an affect. It will corrupt the godly values that lead to good character.
The fact that most people don't believe this and become friends with whoever is available, is why Paul begins this verse with a strong warning - "Do not be misled." Often our desire to be loved or accepted over-rules our judgement and we follow people who can hurt us, control us and lead us in the opposite direction to where we want to go.
On yesterday's news a group of three men were jailed for beating many people on random attacked over a number of weeks. On one occasion, while one was beating a defenseless man with a baseball bat, the other stopped him and took the bat off. "You're not doing it right" he said and then gave the man the blows which cracked his skull leaving him almost dead.
A - If I feel that God wants me to grow in godly character, it just doesn't make sense to become companions with people who have no desire for that. It would be like going north along the Hume Highway to get to Melbourne! No matter how much I want to get there and no matter how fast I drive, I wont get there. I've started heading in the wrong direction.
I can love these people, show kindness and hospitality to them, and spend time getting to know and help them. But those I am one with, those I hang with, those I give permission to shape and nurture me, I want to be good company not bad.
That's why I need to choose my friends wisely, not marry someone who doesn't know and love Jesus, take seriously my role as a father by lovingly shaping my kids and by having godly character myself and creating a home environment that helps this to happen. That's why I need to be careful about the time I spend and the content I view on television. That's why selecting leaders in the church is so important. They influence others. They must be people who people have great confidence in, not in their skills alone but in their character.
P - God, help me be a man of good, godly character. Help me gather around me a group of people who will help to fan into flame, godly character and not corrupt it. Amen.
Daily Readings 1 Corinthians 14-16
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