Especially if you are Christian.
Bad company, in this case, would be defined as those that Christian society advises to stay away from. The sinners, those who engage in unsavoury activity, and anybody who does not espouse Christianity.
Recently, I’ve been through several Bible study lessons that emphasise the fact that you should not hang around with undesirables, lest they cause you to stumble upon your faith.
And this led me to recall an incident during my varsity days. I knew a person who tried to set up a cell group in my hostel. During our very first meeting, he kept saying “non-believers” with a slight sneer. Unfortunately, that’s all I remember about our first cell group meeting, and I was very put off by this.
What’s with this attitude towards non-Christians?
Didn’t Christ come down to die for our sins, for all our sins, for the very non-believers that we judge so harshly now?
Shouldn’t we be making friends with those that society condemns, and offer love and compassion to everyone the way Jesus did?
WWJD right?
And so this is why you should not fear making friends with bad company.
(Image from Life, Hope and Truth)
It demonstrates your faith and confidence in God
Yes, bad company can influence you negatively. But you’re Christian. Isn’t God stronger than that bad influence? Aren’t you assured that the Holy Spirit can overcome negative influence? Doesn’t Philippians 4:13 say that “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me?”
Have some faith.
(Image from How Can I Help People)
To help others
This presuppose that you are a do-gooder, since you’re Christian. Remember, Jesus came to help the very people that the Pharisees despised. The prostitutes, the tax collectors, the thieves.
What if Jesus only hung around with the Christians and nobody else? What if he only helped those who already had help? But he didn’t come down only to help those who were good. He came down to help everyone.
And so should we.
(Image from Meta Peace Team)
It teaches us to be more forgiving and less judgemental
I know another Christian who proudly proclaims the wrath of the Lord upon all who opposes her. And I’m appalled, because if I didn’t know about Christianity, I’d think that the reason Christians believe in God is so that we may bring eternal torment upon our enemies.
God is not a weapon of blunt force trauma against all who are deemed wicked. If God and Jesus were just as judgemental, there wouldn’t be much of the human population left.
The Lord’s Prayer goes: “Forgive us even as we forgive those who sin against us.”
So let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Disclaimer: Hanging around “bad company” is not an excuse to stand on a moral soapbox and judge those you dislike as “bad company.” Give people a chance, a fair chance, before you consider them “bad company,” but still associate with them, if only so that your influence can rub off upon them as well.
(Image from Oin)
Why do I feel so strongly about the subject?
Because when I was young, and deemed “bad company,” I was given a chance.
I asked this friend why he would bother hanging around me if I was already condemned as a problem child. Didn’t his mother warn him to stay away from me, lest I influence him as well?
He told me: “Oh, my mother told me to be friends with you. She thought that a friend would be what you needed most now, so go and be friends with him.”
Little did this Christian lady know how much her words changed my life.
Leave a Reply