Proverbs 13:20
The people we hang around with will
influence us. You will influence them as well. So choose your friends and
companions wisely. Don’t fall into friendship, choose friends. We rub off on
each other.
This is an important lesson often lost on so
many people. We try to instill this lesson in our kids as they grow up, but
sometimes forget that it applies to our lives as well.
Our proverb says that if we walk with the
wise their wisdom will rub off on us. And the opposite is true as well. If we
hang around with fools, we too will become a fool and gets a fool’s results. It
works both ways. We know this instinctively, but often miss it when we live our
lives.
I see it in the slow drift away from things
that matter. Pastors often notice the “boat” Christians in their congregations.
If the weather is nice they are on the boat rather than in church. I see it in
the professional world, people picking up hobbies and attitudes in order to fit
into the work culture and move up in the organization. Certain military units
have attitudes and practices different than the whole. Join the unit and you
become like them.
If you want to become like Christ then you
must hang around with Him and with others who are on the same journey. This is
one of the reasons for church. We need the influence of others in our lives who
are choosing Christ.
This must be more than just sitting and
staring at the back of the person in front of you for an hour. Relational
connections must be made or we are participating in a spectators sport. If we
don’t become involved in the life of the local church we are in danger of being
influenced by other things more than Christ.
Have you found people to walk with whom you
want to emulate in some positive attribute? Are you choosing what part of them
you want to rub off on you?