I knew a young man once that was working in carpentry. His boss had taken a job building a good size dog kennel. They arrived on site and started to work. Soon after starting the boss looked at the young man and said, “I thought you were wearing a white shirt.” The young man said, “I am,” as he looked down at his shirt that was now black. It was black from the fleas that had overtaken him. They immediately exited the area and the boss informed the customer that they would not return until the situation was remedied. This reminds me of an old proverb “If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas.” Suggesting that if you associate with people of low integrity or morals, you will inevitably be tainted by their habits or problems.
It has happened countless times. Someone will declare that they are going to change. They may even make a great effort to change. They discard things connected with their old way of life. They start surrounding themselves with people that encourage them. Then something happens. They run into that old friend and start hanging out with them. Then they are in that old crowd and avoiding those people that pushed them to be better. Then they end up right back where they swore that they would never return.
Sometimes we don’t like to admit it, but it matters who your friends are. As a parent aren’t you always concerned about the friends your children have? We should be equally concerned about the friends we have. It is imperative that we surround ourselves with the right people. Understand that for the most part you can’t help who you work with, but you can control who you hang out with on a regular basis.
Ask yourself these questions. How is this person affecting my life? Are they bringing positive or negative into my life? Are they encouraging good behavior or bad behavior? Are they causing me to draw closer to God or further away? We must be attentive to our circle of friends, because if we don’t we can end up covered in fleas.
1 Corinthians 15:33 NET Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
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