1 Corinthians 15:33 “Don’t be fooled… for “bad company corrupts good character”
It always amazes me how quickly rot spreads through a fruit bowl. One piece of fruit goes off and before long every piece that it touches is affected. Left alone all the fruit goes off. The only solution is to throw it out and clean up.
Our verse lets us know that relationships act like this bowl of fruit. If we have close relationship with people who are a bad influence, then before long, they’re going to affect our good character. This doesn’t happen instantly but the longer we stay together the more tainted our character becomes. The rot begins and then the rot sets in.
This verse tells us not to be fooled by this. Often people trick themselves, believing that they’re strong and can be the “good influence” on a bad group of people. They draw them close only to discover that they are rotten and now life has begun to stink where it used to be so sweet.
At the same time it is vitally important for us to be friendly to all people. Guarding and protecting our closest and most intimate relationships is essential in building a healthy future. It ensures that we have a healthy and protected core when we reach out to help others in need.
This week let’s check over our “fruit bowl” of relationships. Ensure that the people who are closest to us are the best influence we can find. When we choose people of good character we develop and grow quickly in God. This ensures that when others look to us for help they’ll be given the very best we have!
