As a child growing up. my grandma had some interesting old sayings she passed on to me. One of them was, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Another was, “You are known by the company you keep.” I confess, I didn’t think about them much until I became a mom. It was then I began to understand the wisdom behind those words.
When my children became teenagers, they often got upset with me because I always had to know where they were going and who they were going to be with. I made it a point to speak with their friends parents before allowing them to spend time together. As much as possible, I wanted them around good influences. I always tried to impact on them the knowledge that who they spent time with reflected how they were perceived by others. Honesty, integrity and following the rules were important.
As we watch corruption, lying and theft play out on the news every night, some of us are shaking our head in disbelief. Others seem to have buried their head in the sand and are willing to excuse bad behavior to further their own agendas. The division this is causing seems to grow wider with each passing day.
Things I know for sure are that honesty and integrity do matter, truth is truth and cannot be spun away and the people you associate with and support say a lot about your belief system. A civilized society have laws in place for safety and protection. Justice for all means what it says. The highest authority on how we should live and behave is found in the bible. There is much to be found there about morality, integrity, honesty and the company we keep.
1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now, I am writing to you, that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister [in Christ] who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler, do not even eat with such people.”
Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of a fool suffers harm”
Proverbs 14:7 “Stay away from a fool, you will not find knowledge on his lips.”
Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners
Proverbs 22:24-25 “Do not make friends with a hot tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnarled.”
It is time we hold our leaders to a higher standard. It is time we insist business be conducted with honesty and integrity. It is time pastors teach what the bible says and we hold them accountable when they don’t. As Christians and followers of Jesus, we must insist on these things. We can no longer sit quietly by and watch as the teaching of Christ is twisted into something we no longer recognize. We are known by the company we keep, the words we say, the way we act and the love we show to others.
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