1 Corinthians 15: 33 “Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
Evil: morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked; harmful; injurious
Companionships:the relationships of friends or companions; fellowships
Corrupt: to destroy the integrity of; to lower morally; pervert; to infect; taint
Good: morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious; of high quality; excellent
Morals: of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical
There are people in this world who are toxic to the life of a Christian.
They encourage the Christian to leave morality and beliefs behind. If they can’t get the Christian to leave their beliefs and morals behind, then they will try to have the Christian compromise his/her beliefs.
The Christian may believe the person is generally a good person, and would never mean them harm. This person may be a friend or a family member. This person may be a classmate or a co-worker.
The Christian may think they are spending time with this person in an effort to be a good influence on them. But who is influencing whom? Is the person changing how he views the Word of GOD or is the Christian the one who is changing? This is revealed by the actions of each.
Christians generally don’t like to think they would spend time with truly evil people. And, after all, Christians can recognize evil when they see it, right? Evil breathes fire and smells of brimstone; evil is disgusting to look at; evil is a mass murderer, an Adolf Hitler, or a Ted Bundy. Those men were truly evil, to be sure. You could tell by looking at them. Or could you?
Adolf Hitler was charismatic, a vegetarian, a non-smoker, a non-drinker, a decorated hero of World War I, and liked dogs.
Ted Bundy was an attractive, intelligent, well-spoken man with a degree in psychology, and a promising career in politics.
If we look at the definitions at the beginning of this article, we see that an evil companion is an immoral friend who destroys the integrity of the righteous principles of ethical conduct. Do Christians know people like this? Of course. Do Christians have people like this in their lives, some counted as friends? As family? All too often, the answer is “yes.”
Under the influence of the evil companion, the Christian will compromise the word of GOD; they will make excuses for the things they do; they will try to find “loopholes” in an effort to feel justified or that their behavior is somehow permitted.
While the letters to the Corinthians were written to Christians, the warning can hold some meaning for others. An evil companion can corrupt the morals of otherwise good people who might have listened to and obeyed the Gospel but, because of the evil companion’s influence, these others will stay separated from GOD.
What’s the point of this little article? Is it to warn Christians to be on the watch for evil companions who will threaten their souls with friendly words and encouragements to compromise or even ignore Bible truths? Partly. But that’s not the part I want every Christian to think about right now.
This is the part I want every Christian to think about concerning all this:
What if you are the evil companion?
© 2012 George Stewart
Evil: morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked; harmful; injurious
Companionships:the relationships of friends or companions; fellowships
Corrupt: to destroy the integrity of; to lower morally; pervert; to infect; taint
Good: morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious; of high quality; excellent
Morals: of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical
There are people in this world who are toxic to the life of a Christian.
They encourage the Christian to leave morality and beliefs behind. If they can’t get the Christian to leave their beliefs and morals behind, then they will try to have the Christian compromise his/her beliefs.
The Christian may believe the person is generally a good person, and would never mean them harm. This person may be a friend or a family member. This person may be a classmate or a co-worker.
The Christian may think they are spending time with this person in an effort to be a good influence on them. But who is influencing whom? Is the person changing how he views the Word of GOD or is the Christian the one who is changing? This is revealed by the actions of each.
Christians generally don’t like to think they would spend time with truly evil people. And, after all, Christians can recognize evil when they see it, right? Evil breathes fire and smells of brimstone; evil is disgusting to look at; evil is a mass murderer, an Adolf Hitler, or a Ted Bundy. Those men were truly evil, to be sure. You could tell by looking at them. Or could you?
Adolf Hitler was charismatic, a vegetarian, a non-smoker, a non-drinker, a decorated hero of World War I, and liked dogs.
Ted Bundy was an attractive, intelligent, well-spoken man with a degree in psychology, and a promising career in politics.
If we look at the definitions at the beginning of this article, we see that an evil companion is an immoral friend who destroys the integrity of the righteous principles of ethical conduct. Do Christians know people like this? Of course. Do Christians have people like this in their lives, some counted as friends? As family? All too often, the answer is “yes.”
Under the influence of the evil companion, the Christian will compromise the word of GOD; they will make excuses for the things they do; they will try to find “loopholes” in an effort to feel justified or that their behavior is somehow permitted.
While the letters to the Corinthians were written to Christians, the warning can hold some meaning for others. An evil companion can corrupt the morals of otherwise good people who might have listened to and obeyed the Gospel but, because of the evil companion’s influence, these others will stay separated from GOD.
What’s the point of this little article? Is it to warn Christians to be on the watch for evil companions who will threaten their souls with friendly words and encouragements to compromise or even ignore Bible truths? Partly. But that’s not the part I want every Christian to think about right now.
This is the part I want every Christian to think about concerning all this:
What if you are the evil companion?
© 2012 George Stewart