Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “So follow the way of good people, and keep to the paths of the righteous.” Proverbs 2:20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “You become like those you associate with.”
In recent years a big part of my ministry has involved working with young men who have been caught-up in the drug culture and who have ended up in jail, or in one case a maximum security prison. As I visit with them and learn their stories several common themes always seem to emerge. Many of them were raised in homes where parents and siblings openly did drugs. So it comes as no surprise that these men also ended up being drug addicts.
Another common factor in all of their stories is that almost everyone they know and associate with on the outside is also involved in the drug culture. The old saying “Birds of a feather flock together” is very true. We’re most comfortable being with people who are just like us. Therefore those are the people we surround ourselves with.
Another old adage that also applies is “We become like those we associate with.” If you hang around with drug addicts it’s just a matter of time before you are doing drugs too. If your friends are all bank robbers then soon you will probably be robbing banks as well. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals.”
But the opposite is also true. As Proverbs 2:20 suggests, if you surround yourself with good people they will have a positive influence on you. So if you associate with people who value education, you will probably end up an educated person yourself. If the people you spend your time with are health conscious, working-out every day and eating good food, you will probably do the same. If your friends are all church-going Christians, then you probably will be too. In Proverbs 13:20 Solomon writes, “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.”
One piece of advice I always give to the those young men in jail and prison, especially as they are preparing to be released and therefore will have to make smart decisions about what their new life on the outside is going to be like, is to identify people who already have the kind of life that they themselves would like to have, and spend time with those people. I tell them, “If you want to be a godly man who is a good husband and father, who has a good job, and who is respected in the community, then find men like that and spend your time with them.”
It’s just a basic fact of human nature that over time we become like those we associate with. So like your Momma always said, “Choose your friends carefully.”
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 