Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20
The proverbs are so rich with truth and meaning that connects with real episodes that prove it to be true. In coming across this particular proverb is reminded me of the story of Jack.
He grew up in a Christian home, but didn’t really take the faith too seriously and by the time he hit the teens his mind was taken up with other concerns. He was a bit of a shy lad and wouldn’t be noticed by the major cliques of his school. That meant that he didn’t get into trouble too often, but it also meant that he felt rather isolated and felt the need to try and fit in whenever the opportunity arose.
Finally when he went to college to do his A-levels he saw that chance as a classmate named Tim asked him for help on some assignments. Before too long they found they had similar interests and Jack was accepted among Tim’s crew. Although he wasn’t fully integrated, his connection with Tim meant at least he was aware of what was going on and who with going with who in the crew. Whilst all this was happening there was no effort among the young people in the church which Jack attended to take him in and show their level of concern for this tricky stage of life. Rather they kept themselves to themselves and treated Jack as a necessary nuisance who just had to fit in with their ways.
Tim invited Jack over to his house for something to eat and play on some of his computer games. This was music to Jack’s ears, he’d never been invited to anyone’s house before and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. On arriving at the house Jack noticed that Tim seemed to have more liberties than he did and appeared to be able to get more of his way when he wanted it. This already looked appealing to Jack who was bored with the strait-laced hypocrites at church and preferred the camaraderie with his new mates.
Jack enjoyed the first visit and got on well with Tim’s parents who thought he was a polite lad in comparison to the other crude mates that they were used to seeing around the place. Seeing the benefits all round, Tim invited Jack around more often. From the shared interest in computer games, Tim introduced Jack to the pleasures of drink, at first Jack didn’t take to it, but after a little while and with encouragement Jack eventually developed a taste for some of the spirits as well as mucking in with some bitters and lagers.
As Tim’s mates got to see Jack a lot less uptight and more relaxed in their company, they warmed to him and liked this side of Jack. He was there for all their parties and nights out on the town, Jack really let his hair down and relaxed a lot of the inhibitions his upbringing had saddled him with. Sadly though, there was no limit on what Jack thought was now acceptable and so from a reserved and cautious teen looking for companionship, he turned into a more open kind of guy up for a laugh and anything that his mates were doing, but never being satisfied with the friendships – they always appeared so shallow, so empty. Further in Jack delved in, thinking there was no way back to where he’d come from and no real desire, yet not enjoying this new place he was in.
It was one of Tim’s mates that noticed that Jack didn’t appear to happy and suggested taking something for it to help him relax further. Jack usually didn’t go for all that, but seeing as though his mates took it and it didn’t appear to do them any harm …
His decline continued throughout his twenties so that a young man who could have flowered and blossomed in the right company, instead muddled through a life of mediocrity. His was the routine of getting a steady job that no way challenged his intellectual capacities and only gave him superficial sense of any job satisfaction. The gnawing dissatisfaction sunk him deeper in his depression and then his parents got a call from the police about an accident with a fatality …
It’s a sad tale of the power of the company you keep that’s not against people per se. Tim isn’t a bad guy and his friends weren’t bad guys either, but as long as their desire wasn’t for righteousness, then they were always likely to take Jack down a path that wouldn’t end pretty. The real tragedy is actually about people like Jack who live on, feeling as though there’s no alternative to their lot, stuck in the quagmire of mediocrity thinking there’s no way back to what God might have offered and with a church that is out of touch in the ghetto mentality of their own rights, routines and rituals that do little of any meaning.
Righteousness is not about rules, but about a desire to please God in the heart, mind, mouth and hands. That leads to honest, transparent, vulnerable people willing to share life with others who are muddling through this world looking for the lead of God so as not to get stuck in miseries of materialism, career ladder traps, relationship disasters and a works-based morality where no matter what you it’s never good enough. Grace-motivated living with gratitude is the basis for righteousness that can see the Jacks of this world dying whether out in the world or sitting in the pews of church services going through the same rigmarole and routine without transformational change.
That is all about the company you keep.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 