The Company You Keep

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
–Psalm 1:1

If you hooked every Christian up to a lie detector and asked, “Would you like Jesus to come back right now?” my guess is the majority would say, “I want Him to come back someday, but not right now. I have things I want to experience, plans I want to fulfill.” Many Christians have been infected by this world–all they talk about is their job, their family, their investments, their vacations, their possessions; they never give a thought about the next world.

That is what happened to Lot. According to 2 Peter 2:7, Lot was a believer. But he was a fleshly believer who had been seduced by sin. Think about the progression of Lot’s involvement with Sodom: When Lot first separated from Abraham, the Bible says he pitched his tents outside the city of Sodom. Then he moved into Sodom, and then he became a judge in the city. And because of that, the spirit of Sodom infected his being. Genesis 19:16 says when the angels told Lot to leave the city because God’s judgment was coming, he hesitated. He had become infected with the spirit of Sodom, so his focus was completely on the things of this world.

Lot became infected by the spirit of Sodom because he surrounded himself with worldly, sinful people. Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” Lot was walking in the counsel of the ungodly. He was standing in the presence of sinners. He was seated with those who ridiculed the things of God. And instead of those people becoming like Lot, Lot became like them.

I heard a preacher one time use this illustration: Imagine putting on a pair of white gloves, going out in a rainstorm, and working in the flowerbed. What would happen to those white gloves when you put them into the mud? The gloves would become muddy, but in no case would the mud ever become glove-y. The mud impacts the white gloves, not the other way around.

Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.” If you hang around a person who is hot-tempered, guess what is going to happen? That angry person will not become more patient; instead, you will become more angry. If you hang around a person who ridicules the things of God, that person does not become more spiritual; you become more cynical. That is why you need to watch out with whom you associate. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” That is exactly what happened to Lot.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “When God Says, “Enough!”” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org