I have heard it said, “You become who you run with, and they become you.” Obviously you don’t actually become that other person, but when we spend lots of time with someone, their lingo, attitudes, and perspective influence ours. It is very important, therefore, to manage who we spend our time with, because, positive or negative, they are influencing and changing us.

The bible talks about this in Exodus 23:33, where God tells the Israelites, “Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” Proverbs 24:1, says “Don’t envy godless men; don’t even enjoy their company.”

The interesting thing is that in modern times with television, podcasts, youtube, and other connections, our circle of people influencing us does not just consist of the people we physically spend time with. We can be just as influenced by people we follow on social media, television, and the like; so we need to be careful who we are “running with” even in our “virtual circle”

Dear Lord, help us have the courage to remove those who are negative influences from our circle, and when that is not possible, help us be the positive influence that raises the group to a higher level of faithfulness to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen