April 14

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

Don’t stray from the truth, wander off the path or forget where you are going or what you are believing, when you hang out with people who are bad people, of immoral character, they will cause your good and moral living to become corrupt and immoral. Besides being a lesson we could share with our kids, (and ourselves), there is something about the placement of this verse that needs our attention.

Paul put this very wise and sage advice in the middle of the chapter or section that talks about the resurrection. Isn’t that interesting? Paul is arguing for the resurrection and then he says “immoral company corrupts your morality”. He is definitely talking about the corruption of our beliefs with will lead to the corruption of our way of life. There are people who act like there is no resurrection from the dead, no reckoning and no God. Paul says, don’t hang out with them, they will ruin you! The resurrection from the dead IS our hope and it is one of our great motivators to live a life for God. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get saved because I had such a great desire to become a worshipper or pastor, I got saved to be saved from hell! It was all about the afterlife and not this life.

Here is the point – don’t hang out with people who don’t believe because they will ruin your faith! That doesn’t mean we don’t talk with them, that means we don’t choose them to be within our circle of friends to “hang out” with.