The power of association

Call To Prayer 

Title: The power of association 

By: Njuacha Hubert 

Date: 24.02.2024 

 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 

Before I proceed, I just noticed that according to NIV and other translations, what Saint Paul quoted in the opening verse was a quotation from a Greek poet called Menander. So, despite that not being part of the Old Testament which is what they would usually reference when they were teaching at that time, he was acknowledging the statement to be true and using it as basis to teach further. What this means is we are not to discard all knowledge or wise sayings from our culture but judge with the mind of God and acknowledge those that are true and sound. That said, I also quote a similar quotation from a motivational speaker Jim Rohn who said, “you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”.  

Indeed, our friends and family influence us. But aside from family who we can’t necessarily avoid we have a choice or greater power of who we associate with. Just as the opening verse says, indeed bad company corrupts good character. So, we are to avoid bad company whenever possible. You may think you know right and are strong, but temptations are something you don’t play around with but rather flee from (1 Corinthians 6:18) and these temptations come from human vessels as well (Mathew 16:23). It doesn’t however mean one should become antisocial for remember the word also says avoid the extremes and that he who fears God knows how to (Ecclesiastes 7:18-19). 

We are to spend more time with other members of the body of Christ; brothers and sisters in Christ. Are your close friends born again? This means participating in various church groups is great because there you get to make friends as well as serve. As believers we support each other in our faith and one of the ways is through meetings and the importance of this cannot be overemphasized (Hebrews 10:25). Now aside those who are about the same spiritual maturity as you, we should also draw closer to those more than us; they challenge our faith to grow but at the same time Jesus is our ultimate role model. 

If association with men can influence, then you can imagine what our association with Jesus does. Jesus is the word incarnate so hearing the word is spending time with Him (Luke 24:13-35). Praying in tongues, Worship and Thanksgiving are spending time with Him. The more we abide in His presence the more we are influenced to become like Him (John 15:4).  

Prayer Point: 

Let’s thank God for the word. Let’s pray for the zeal to spend time with Him.