“He who walks with the wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20 (NKJ)
I appreciate it very much when people recommend me a good book or a good show. But I appreciate it even more when their lives recommend the good way to live. This happens only when we are in the right company of friends and intentionally engaging in providential relationships.
Right relationships can make a difference in our lives. Wrong relationships can bring us to ruin.
Proverbs 13:20 instructs us to ‘walk with the wise men’ for he who walks with the wise grows wise. Day 12 devotional explained extremely well who a wise man is and contrasted him with the foolish. It provided a mirror for us to square our lives against and ask if we belonged to the wise or the foolish.
Today’s Proverbs caution us to be careful and deliberate about the kind of friends we choose and mix with. Proverbs 12:26 says, “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” We often become just like the people we hang around with. Apostle Paul picked up on this when he wrote, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
I remember those days when I was in the insurance industry. I was literally ‘sucked’ into and indulged in the company of friends whose talk only revolved around material gains, status and prestige; the kind of country clubs we joined and the expensive places we dined in. We spend our nights in pubs, drinking and convincing ourselves we deserved the fill for we worked hard for it. This was the good life according to my equation till I was proven wrong by God. We seemed to have gained much, yet possessed nothing. There was a void and a sense of emptiness within the soul, searching for the real worth in life.
There is a ‘much more’ life in Christ. I learned this through seeking and living the greater life, not without the walking with the wise. Wise men know how to find wise company while foolish men get lost in their folly. I attribute my spiritual growth to my walk with the wise.
- "Enoch walked with God". (Genesis 5:22)
- "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." (Genesis 6:9)
- "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked." (Genesis 48:15)
- "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." (Leviticus 26:12)
The wise first walked with God and then invite others to walk with them.
Choose to walk with the wise today for they know wisdom begins by walking with God.
Are you in the company of the wise today? If not, take the next step now to join a cell group; AGM or AGF. They are the wise walking with the wise, knowing that walking in wisdom begins first with God.
Ps Loh Li Li
