Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals

Psalm 101 is a psalm of David where David writes about the things and the people that he will not allow to influence his life. He writes that he will set nothing wicked before his eyes, he will have those of perverse heart depart from him, destroy the one who slanders his neighbor, not endure one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, not dwell with those who work deceit or tell lies, cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord. Hmmm…I wonder if David actually had any friends! Unfortunately, all of us sinners would fall in these categories from time to time. I think what David is getting at here is that he recognizes the importance of the company that he keeps and how that can pull him away from serving and worshiping the Lord. This psalm reminds me of the message of Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” These are wise words to young and old who say or think, “But I’m not doing anything wrong…these are my friends”. It’s very important to watch the company that we keep. Obviously we are not to jettison any friend that doesn’t believe what we believe but perhaps we should be careful to watch the environments that we engage with those people? I appreciate David’s concern about the company that he keeps. The company we keep almost always greatly influences what we say and do. I think we can learn from David here.