He who walks with wise men will be
wise but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 13:20
I know we
are called to be a light to this dark world but in order to maintain our
brightness we would do well to heed the counsel of this verse. Walking with wise men – that doesn’t mean we
never sit by a fool at our kid’s soccer game!
(Considering the behavior of most parents at kids’ sports events…we
would likely be in solitary confinement if that’s what this verse intended!)
Rather I believe it is calling us to choose carefully who we “do life
with”. Who are our close companions,
whose company do we prefer, which people are the ones we rely on and turn to in
times of need. It is of vital importance
who those people are, that they be wise, or at least learning to be wise. Because hanging out with fools brings
destruction – the phrase “will suffer harm” means to become evil, to be made
worse, suddenly.
May God
protect us from wanting to be with those who don’t fear the Lord. Of course we should pray for them, share
Christ with them, and show them love but there is inevitable inherent danger
when we choose these kinds of folks to be our close friends. We can tell
ourselves as many times as we want to that we are going to influence them for
good, that we won’t wind up like them, that these folks are more fun than other
options. But mark my word – actually
mark HIS Word, we will suffer harm. And
it will come without warning.
I used to
work for Truett Cathy at the corporate offices of Chick-fil-A and one of my
many perks was to hear his homespun wisdom on a regular basis. My most favorite of his saying was “You’ll be
the same person a year from now as you are today except for the books you read
and the people you associate yourself with.
Friends will determine the quality and direction of your life. Choose wisely.”
Amen,
Truett, Amen.
As we
continue in our journey to walk wise, and put our puzzle together to the Glory
of God, are there some companions we need to back away from in order to avoid
suffering harm? Ask God to reveal His desires for us.
Oh, and
let’s also pray fervently that we will be wise companions in the lives of those
around us!