THE COMPANY TO KEEP WALKS IN THE LIGHT

I was simply brushing my teeth.  Suddenly one of life’s truths hit me.  We become the company we keep.  It happened back in my college days (ice age. . . late 1960s)while rooming with a fellow student, Dick McClain.  Dick had a unique laugh. I could hear that laugh in a dark room of a hundred people and know it was Dick.  While brushing my teeth one morning, a funny thought crossed my mind and I laughed out loud.  Out of my mouth came the unmistakable, unique laugh of Dick McClain.  Dick was and still is bright, fun to be with, and a strong follower of Christ.  Hopefully, that was not the only positive characteristic I picked up from him.

 It is true.  We become the company we keep.  From the time we were in our mother’s womb, we’ve always been social beings influenced by those with whom we share time and space.  We are shaped by the social, spiritual contexts and environments where we spend precious time.   It seems as though the hands of others shape the clay of our lives for the better or not.  It is not difficult to see that the impacts of some settings are positive while others are not.  Some are healthy while others can be toxic.

The Bible has something to say about the company we keep.  The Apostle John put it this way (1 John 1:7) -  “If we walk in the light as he (God) is in the light we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ purifies us from all sin.” Jesus made it clear (John 15:5) – “If a man remains in me and I remain in him, he will bear much fruit.”  In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:22), he clarifies the nature of such fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  That’s an impressive return on investment of our time keeping company with Jesus.  We become like him!

On the other hand, some people are toxic.  Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (15:33) reminds us of the toxicity we expose ourselves to when we keep the wrong company.  He simply says – “Bad company corrupts good character.”  Bad company walks in darkness.  Such company is impatient, unkind, envies, boasts, is proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, keeps records of wrongs, delights in evil, protects only itself, mistrusts and cannot be trusted, is devoid of love, and inevitably disappoints and fails. 

How wonderful it is to walk in light with others who also walk in the light of Jesus.  In such light there is wisdom, truth, peace, joy, and learning that by the Holy Spirit sanctifies our lives.  It all about the company that we keep.  The company to keep walks in the light.

He walks with God who speaks to God in prayer,

And daily brings to him his daily care;

Possessing inward peace, he truly knows

A heart’s refreshment and a soul’s repose.

He walks with God who, as he onward moves,

Follows the footsteps of the Lord he loves,

And keeping him forever in his view, 

His Savior sees and His example too.

Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779-1847) SASB 580