Do not be misled; “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Truer words never written. As parents who raised three teenagers (I lived through the experience, although some do not), my wife and I preached this verse regularly.

The wisdom of these words doesn’t stop with our teenage or young adult years. All through life we face the corrosion bad company brings to our character.

Bad company includes the people I hang around with, whether socially or at work. Folks who enjoy gossip, who create dissension, who continually pull toward the negative make for bad company. While it’s easy to turn down those who offer me pot (since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado I’ve been offered a hit twice, both on the golf course), it’s harder to turn away from a juicy morsel of gossip.

I include much of social media and internet searches in the company of the bad. When I read things online and find myself enveloped in angst, then I know I’m in bad company. I mostly avoid social media for this reason.

The antidote to bad company?

Good company.

Surround yourself with people who encourage you to live better and love the Lord. One huge reason for involvement with a body of believers is to get around folks attempting just that. By ourselves, we drift toward bad company.

What I preached to my kids I now preach to myself—not always successfully—and I continue to see the value of surrounding myself with good people whenever possible.

1 Corinthians 15:32 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

PS. I don’t necessarily include the 70’s band Bad Company in my warning against bad company. Their music is pretty cool.

Photo by Pascal Meier