1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) ~ Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
My dad always told me, “If you fly with the crows you will get shot with them.” There is truth in this statement, as there is such a thing as “guilt by association”.
I had a friend, and when we were younger, we played together and were best of friends. We were always there for each other. But, as time went on, I started noticing that his attitude changed. It came about because of the people he kept company with. He started drinking, swearing, his grades in school dropped and he shouted back at his parents. He began smoking, and then he tried cannabis (marijuana). He rebelled, because in the eyes of his so called friends, it was the cool thing to do.
We drifted apart as friends, but I never stopped praying for him. Several years passed, and then one day, I saw him. He was not the same guy I once knew. He was thin, his appearance was unkempt and he smelled of cigarettes and alcohol. He sat alone in a park bench holding onto a bottle of alcohol covered by a brown, crumpled up bag. At first he did not see me as I sat down beside him. His head was looking down, staring at the ground, his face covered by a gray hoodie, which looked as if it hadn’t been washed for weeks.
With his head bowed, he turned towards me, and extended his hand which had sores on it and was covered in dirt. “Any loose change? I am hungry; please man, any spare change?” He asked. The only emotion left in his voice was despair. I whispered, “John, how are you?” Slowly he turned towards me. I looked at his face, unshaven, his teeth rotten and his cheeks sunken into his face. The sparkle of life that once lit up his eyes was gone. I said, “It’s good to see you John.” Then, instinctively, I just wrapped my arms around him in the middle of the park and gave him a hug. We spoke for awhile, and then we went for something to eat. I watched him wolf down the burgers and fries as if someone was going to steal them from him if he did not eat them quickly enough. I could not believe that this was the same guy that was my best friend when I was a young teenager. He quickly told me his story of how his so called “cool friends” dropped him when he could not pay for drugs any more, how he had stolen from his mum and dad, and how he left town because of all the lies he told to people. He told me that after he was finished with this last bottle of cheap alcohol that he was going to jump off a bridge onto an on coming train. He had had enough.
I told Him that God still loved him; God still believed in him. Slowly, but surely, he began to turn his life around. Along the way, he had good days and not so good days. However, John kept going. One of the hardest things for him was to earn the trust of his elder parents. They told him that they never gave up on him and never stopped praying for him, and every night, just before they went to bed, they would look out of the living room window hoping for him to come home. John now has a job, a beautiful wife and a son. He loves Jesus, and is so thankful to Jesus that even through it all Jesus never let go of him.
No matter how low John had gone, he knew that deep down inside Jesus loved him. He remembered the old Sunday school songs which we used to sing together. One such song had these words:
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so.
Mac Powell, the singer from the Christian band, Third Day, sings these wonderful words:
There is hope for the helpless, strength for the weary,
And love for the broken heart.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing,
He’ll meet you wherever you are,
Cry out to Jesus.
My friend, the Bible says in Psalm 119:9 (NIV), “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” The Bible also says in Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV), “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”
Learn to keep good company, take the time to be around people who will bless you and have a very positive influence in your life. Someone once said, “You will be influenced by what the most important person in your life thinks of you. And, if the most important person in your life is Jesus, you will be a positive person, full of joy and peace, and you will know that you are loved.” You will have the best company to keep, by having Jesus as your best friend.
God has his hand upon your life, but you can walk away by your own free will. Our text for today says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV), “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” It sometimes takes courage to be a Christian and to walk in the paths of righteousness. But let us keep this hope, that if we ever stray from those paths, and that good way, by allowing the bad company that we keep to pull us away from the Lord, there is forgiveness and healing waiting for us at our Father’s house. He will always be looking at the door, waiting for you to come back home, so He can wrap His loving arms around you and tell you He loves you.
God bless you my friend, Matthew.
