My Son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them… (Proverbs 1:10)
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. (Proverbs 13:20)
He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father. (Proverbs 28:7)
There’s a fun country and western song written by Dewayne Blackwell and Bud Lee and sung by Garth Brooks that, without intending to, describes one of life’s riskiest entanglements. Called “Friends in Low Places,” the ballad proclaims:
‘Cause I’ve got friends in low places,
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away.
And I’ll be okay.
I’m not big on social graces.
Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis.
Oh, I’ve got friends in low places.
While the mythical star in the song exults in his scuzzy companions, he’s in a very vulnerable situation. The biblical principle is that the friends we choose shape the character we’ll possess. Proverbs leads off in chapter one with an admonition to avoid the influence of those who would coax us into doing what is wrong.
Principle: Responding to cautions about unsavory companions with, ”I can handle ’em!” is not only naive, but it ignores the spiritual cross-pollination that occurs in relationships.
My grandmother, who had only a fifth-grade education, had a reservoir of wisdom wrapped in down-home proverbs. On friendship, she shared two memorable maxims: “Birds of a feather flock together” and “Water seeks its own level.” When I was a college president, I noted the validity of these proverbs in how quickly the new freshmen who weren’t “with the program” spiritually found upperclassmen who shared their contempt for righteousness! They truly did “seek their own [moral and spiritual] level” and soon could be seen “flocking together.”
Principle: The associates we choose both reveal and feed the moral appetites of our souls.
My dad told me of the time some of his teenage schoolmates were going out on a Saturday evening of fun, when the leader of the group decided this was the night they would prove their manhood by patronizing a brothel. When my dad discovered this, he got out of the car and walked a number of miles home. Even though he did not know Jesus Christ at that time, that decision, among others, enabled him to marry my mom as a virgin.
Interesting that Solomon and his associates found that even fraternizing with gluttons—not just whoremongers, thieves, or liars—was a moral risk factor. Scary thought in a nation riddled with obesity.
Principle: Sin is extremely contagious and is commonly spread by the infected companions we choose.
So when choosing friends or, for that matter, determining which work associates we will spend our time with, it is best to pick only those who can elevate our moral and spiritual state…true friends in high (heavenly) places.
[from “Wisdom for the Trenches” by Dr. Larry W. Poland]