Separate from bad company

Evil associations do not only corrupt but they also bring loss and misery. But there are some people who oppose this divine wisdom. Despite warnings and discouragement from loving and caring people not to hook up with people of questionable morality, they go ahead and keep company.
However, wisdom is always justified by its fruit. They always regret later when the corruption of their associates come upon them. When God says not to be deceived or fooled into thinking you can convert an evil person into a good one, He means that the power of evil to spread is greater than that of good. Only God, the Almighty, has the power to convert a soul in His own way and time. Otherwise, before they are converted keep away from their corruption or else you will be the one to be converted from good to bad.
There are people who are in big trouble today who did not heed this scriptural injunction to avoid bad people. Some have ended up in prison because of the associates they hung around with. Others have lost considerable sums of money and valuable property because they made themselves sureties of bad people. Still others are in troubled marriages because they listened to the advice of evil associates who urged them to marry partners about whom they had serious reservations. There are lonely and hurting people today who were deceived by bad friends into deserting loving and caring people who loved them fully and had their best interests at heart. You can go against man’s word and win; but you cannot successfully go against God’s word because the Bible says that the scriptures cannot be broken. Evil associations corrupt good character!
Peer pressure and mob psychology do more harm than good. They are more of sources of evil than of good. Teenagers who indulge in unlawful sexual acts and drug dealing started as innocent friends of bad people.
However, because they kept company of such evil friends they wound up doing the same things. It is part of wise parenting to constantly examine the character of people your child is dating or hanging around with. It is true that you can tell a person’s character by the kind of his or her friends.  Even adults need to scrutinise the character of people they are marrying, doing business with or clubbing with. If you associate with a bad person chances are very high that you will also be bad soon or later.
Ladies, if you are being pursued by a man who has divorced more than once you need to think twice. One excuse is more convincing than many. If he could not stay with the previous wives what makes you think he can stay with you? Do not deceive yourself; that man is better by himself. Gentlemen, no matter how lucrative the deal sounds, if ever you feel uneasy about dealing with the people involved, do not venture. That feeling of uneasiness is a warning signal from God telling you to desist from that venture. If you insist; you will regret.
When the Bible forbids us from involving ourselves with people who are fond of coarse and ungodly jokes, it is protecting us from defilement that comes from evil associations. A close analysis of the origin of extra-marital affairs can reveal, among other things, that the seducer used filthy and vulgar jokes to lure his or her targeted partner into forbidden sex. Bad company corrupts.
The conflict of evil associations is resolved by separation. Separation from evil associations keeps you godly and holy. God wants us to separate ourselves from anything in the world that is unsupportive of godliness. We are to separate ourselves from anyone doing things that can defile our bodies and spirits. First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 33 says, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.”
This scripture lists some of the associations that one who values godliness should separate from. It is not talking about hating or blaming them but about avoiding sinful imitation of their bad character.
 Corruption that comes from evil associates weakens our power to resist the devil.  Conversely, godliness that comes from separating ourselves from bad people strengthens our power to resist Satan.
To separate from close associations is always painful.
But if you weigh the risks versus the benefits of keeping bad company, you will find that the corruption of evil association lasts but the pain of separation is a temporary affliction that leads to greater glory. Better separate!
-For feedback call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk