Bad Company and Good Character

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

I Corinthians 15:33-34

Let me break this down for you in modern, American vernacular.

Hey, dummy! Being around bad company damages your spirit. Wake up! You're picking up their bad habits and attitudes! Some people have no idea how to act the right way - you should know better than to think everyone does!

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Oftentimes, I think we forget how critical it is to be surrounded by positive influences in our lives. And, I think we forget that we need to protect ourselves from negative influences. This is not an argument for separation from all negative influences, for we certainly must face them at times - we live in a broken world after all.

But it is a reminder to be on your guard. Inspect your heart. Do you find yourself growing negative or cold? That's coming from somewhere - most likely a negative influence in your life. Is it causing more damage to you than you are seeing positive fruit in the others from your involvement? Perhaps it is time to minimize or remove that influence.

And let's not be fooled - these negative influences often come from areas we least expect. Groups of friends, certain family members, church groups, coworkers, clubs, organizations. Don't get sucked into the negativity. Stay above it, or remove it from your life and avoid it if necessary.

And you'll notice that the concepts above are not limited to people that aren't Christians. It includes Christians. Bad company. There are many Christians who do not know God or his ways. We all have our weaknesses. Ask yourself - "Am I one of those in certain circumstances?"

If there truly is a reason you must interact with "bad company", consider that you must prepare yourself for it and do some damage control after interacting with it. If it continually negatively impacts you, you may need to perform some spiritual surgery and remove it from your life so as not to impede your spiritual growth.