Do not be misled: “Bad company
corrupts good character.”[a] 34 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
The power of peer pressure cannot
be underestimated. There is a deep need inside us to belong. Many times we go
along with others, not because of any personal investment in the right or wrong
of what we are doing, but because of our need to be accepted by those we are
with.
When our conscience tries to tell
us one thing and we ignore it then we are listening to a voice that, for the
moment, is louder. Over time we find the voice of our conscience gets softer
and we may even find ourselves enjoying behavior that at one time was
distasteful to us. This is a degradation of our moral character.
Paul tells us to wake up and stop
going along in the sinful patterns our companions have drug us into. We need to
ask ourselves, “Where is the voice of God in this?” If we cannot tell or cannot
say with confidence that He is right beside us, then we need to stop what we
are doing.
Society views us as innocent or
guilty by association of those around us. We may need to find new friends;
people of integrity. We become like those we spend time with. We should find
someone we admire and hang out with them. People will assume the behaviors of
our companions are ours as well.
My husband is a very friendly,
likeable person. Many people think I am friendly and likeable, too, since I am
married to him. The truth is that I had precious few friends before I met him.
I am an odd duck with unusual interests and I find it hard to relate to people
on my own. He is an invaluable help to me in social situations.
We should not be content with
mediocre companions to go through life with. We need to make time to find the
best; people who will improve us as a person and a follower of Christ. The
opposite of what Paul says in this passage is also true. Good company builds
good character.
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