“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”
Memory verse: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20
Let’s start today with some questions. Have you ever heard the saying “wrong association corrupts good manners” ?
Can we say this is a statement of truth; or only on some occasions, or can we say there are some conditions attached to this saying?
What does the bible tell us about our association?
Having dug deeper into the word, it turns out that this popular saying is straight from the word of God. It is written in I Corinthians 15:33 making the statement is not just partially right but fully correct because God’s words says so. “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
Every day in life we go through a whole lot of emotions and we see that those emotions comes from our surrounding. They drive our daily activities and when an emotion lingers on for so long, it can begin to shape some of our behaviours. Let’s look at how depression is described clinically – The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterises major depression can lead to a range of behavioural and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behaviour, or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.
The single entry point of depression is simply sadness and when lingers on for long, it becomes something major needing medical attention and if not treated on time can lead to loss of life.
Bad company is like depression, we cannot be partially associated to the wrong company. The bible categorically tells us to ““Abstain from every form of evil” in line with I Thessalonians 5:22. Other translations of the same scripture uses the word “Flee” because once we stay around wrong company for a while, it’s only a matter of time before the evil they do looks normal to us and in no time we begin to tolerate, like and unknowingly practice what they do.
The Israelites were alright with the manna being provided but once the people began to complain, they also began to complain. The bible does not tell us to linger around and resist bad company because God is more interested in keeping us safe and our duty is to ensure we do everything to stay in line with the will of God else we are likely to go astray.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for your wonderful works and blessings
- Thank you for all you bless me with
- Help me Lord to keep good company, severe me off every corruptible company I keep
- Help me to be an example of God’s love and goodness to all around me
- Forgive all my sins Lord, have mercy, hear my cries, and make me a testimony
- Thank you for answers to my prayer, in Jesus name I pray, Amen
