Bad Company

Mike Johnson

There is a story about two parrots who lived near each other.  One often sang hymns while the other was addicted to swearing.  The owner of the latter obtained permission for it to associate with the former in the hope that its bad habit would be corrected.  Instead, the opposite happened as both learned to swear.

This little story reminds us of a passage in I Corinthians 15:33, which says (NKJV), “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’” A person may feel like he can associate with wicked people and not be hurt.  He may think that he can be a good influence on those who are not as they should be.  Perhaps he can, but influence can go in two directions, and there is a great danger of the one who is wicked influencing the good person. Those who think otherwise are deceiving themselves.  We all need to pick our  friends carefully.  Remember, “Evil company corrupts good habits.”