The company you keep matters. It can be an asset or a liability to your goals in life and to your walk with the Lord. That is true whether you are a babe in Christ or spiritually mature.
Paul the apostle penned these words: ‘Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals”’ (1 Corinthians 15:33, NASB). Note the phrase, “Do not be deceived.” It suggests that bad company can be deceptive.
When our children were young, the verse above stayed on my mind. I knew it was not enough for me to be a church pastor and a parent who took his children to church and who had family Bible time with them. I also had to concern myself with whom my children hung out with.
One of my children used to tell me I had nothing to worry about because we spent family Bible time together. But I was not buying that. The verse above tells me otherwise.
So, what about the company you keep? Is that company an asset or liability to your walk with God?
Paul also addressed this area of concern in his second letter to the Corinthians. “You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections” (2 Corinthians 6:12, NASB). Paul was saying, we are not restraining you, but it’s your associations that are holding you back.
What affections was he talking about? “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness,” Paul continued (2 Corinthians 6:14, NASB). This verse touches on how the company you attach yourself to may be holding you back. It highlights two potential problem areas we should give due attention to:
1. Bound Together with Unbelievers
The King James version uses the phrase “be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” God is not opposed to us interacting with unbelievers. We are supposed to be among them. They are the ones God wants us to reach out to with the gospel.
On the other hand, we should not allow ourselves to become bound together or yoked together with unbelievers. Think about two animals yoked together. They become essentially one. Where one goes the other goes. Christians should not be yoked together with unbelievers that way.
As a church pastor, I have seen the truth of this warning play itself out in a bad way in several marriages involving a believer and an unbeliever. But the verse is not limited to marriage between a believer and an unbeliever. Marriage just happens to be the strongest kind of yoke because two become one, and the stronger the yoke the more pronounced the consequences will be.
2. Spiritual Incompatibility
Paul asks, “What fellowship has light with darkness?” The answer is absolutely none. The spiritual agenda of those who are not saved is diametrically opposed to that of those of us who are in Christ. If we yoke ourselves with them, they can negatively impact our potential in Christ.
When I was in the workforce, I traveled often. Oftentimes, I was the only believer, or one of the few believers, in the gatherings I found myself in. During idle moments and whenever we gathered for meals, the conversation often went in a direction that was of little or no interest to me. But I understood it all. These moments were microcosms of the effect of spiritual incompatibility.
Being All You Can
Paul warned the Corinthians, “Do not be deceived.” Some believers today deceive themselves to believe they can yoke themselves with whomever they want to and not be negatively affected. This is far from the truth. To become all that you can be in Christ, you need to yoke yourself with those who are like-minded. Those who will motivate and inspire you to greater heights. Those who know how to effectively minister to you when you need to be ministered to.
So, what about you. Are any of your associations a liability to your goals in life or our walk with the Lord? If so, what will you do about that today?
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.