Walk With The Wise – Greatness and Wise Companionship Are Inseparable!

Let’s reiterate a few sentences…

The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

I am a companion of all those who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.

Greatness and wise companionship are inseparable because, throughout scriptures, the greatness of every man or woman of God can be traced to their companionship.  You will eventually reflect the character of the people and things you keep company with. Throughout Jesus Christ ministry here on earth, he chose and kept company. He demonstrated the perfect example of how companionship should be done. He ministered to many yet kept company with a handful of people. That alone teaches us that we can minister to many and not necessarily keep company with all of them.

-Jesus did and said only what his Father commanded him to do and say

-Nehemiah kept company with people who believed in the vision God had given him in order to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It took the right companions in order to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days.

-Moses had an assignment to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and he was accompanied by Aaron.

-Elijah and Elisha, a great companion as well. Elisha benefited from the double portion of the anointing because he kept company with Elijah.

-Paul on missionary journeys kept company with Barnabas, Luke, Timothy and more in order to remain productive.

-Naomi and Ruth; Ruth purposed in her heart to keep company with Naomi. She was determined to make Naomi’s people and Naomi’s God, her God.

-Mordecai and Esther; Mordecai brought up Esther (his cousin) in the ways of the Lord and the tenacity in her character can be traced to her upbringing.

-Jethro and Moses; Moses’ leadership style changed for good just by his association with his father – in – law Jethro.

The list is endless.

Choose your companions knowledgeably.

Choose your companions wisely.

Choose your companions purposefully.

Choose your companions with your vision in mind.

Amen.

Walk With The Wise - Do not Be Deceived

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)

 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Emphasis Mine

Other translations use the phrase “ruins good morals” or “destroys good morals”.

Two things stand out here;

-Deception - You could choose to deceive yourself or you could choose to allow others to deceive you.

-Influence - In this context, bad has an influence over good.

The Greek word for corrupt in this verse means to experience moral deterioration or moving down from a high level or to waste away. Amen!

-        Meaning that corruption is a process; it does not happen in one day.

-        It could happen one idea at a time. Our heavenly Father is patient so too is the devil.

-        For as long as the enemy gets you on a path that will lead you downhill, he will patiently present one idea at a time until he achieves his goal.

-        That is why we will use this opportunity to reiterate that we should not engage in companionship relationships casually. All it takes is one wrong information in order to begin experiencing moral deterioration.

·       Do not deceive yourself into thinking that the things you hear, see or say unintentionally do not affect you either. Our words have power and our minds capture faster than we think. So, establish your routine - daily, weekly, biweekly, frequently;

-To consistently re-evaluate / or take inventory of your life. It is your life, you have authority to do so.

- Re-establish boundaries; the boundaries of yesterday may not as effective today.

-Be aware of distractions; purposefully avoid placing yourself in compromising situations.

-Establish or re-establish personal values and standards.

-Then remember to communicate the changes with those closest to you so that you all live with understanding.