A. Bad company corrupts good morals
(1 Corinthians 15:33).
B. The kind of relationships to
avoid in Proverbs---
1. Enticing sinners.
Prov. 1:10---My
son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
a. The word "sinners" is reserved in
Scripture to describe unbelievers who endeavor to persuade even
believers to sin with them (see James 4:8).
b. They will seek to entice by peer
pressure. Note the plural pronouns---them (v.10); " "Come along
with us" (v.11); Let us (v.11-12). The intimidating force of peer
pressure is often the way to entice those who lack
wisdom.
Prov.
1:12---Let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and
whole, like those who go down to the pit.
a. The wicked devise a plot of
deception in which the innocent are captured and victimized like
one who is taken by death itself (examples: Joseph in Gen. 37:20,
Jeremiah in Jer. 38:6-13, Daniel in Dan. 6:16-17)
Prov. 1:13---We
will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with
plunder.
a. This is the enticing of the
innocent by tempting them with reward. Outright robbery is made to
appear easy and safe by the thieves.
Prov. 1:15---My
son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their
paths.
a. This directly confronts the
invitation of verse 11. Sin must be rejected at the first
temptation. It must not be dabbled in or entertained in the least.
We are to stay as far away from sin and enticing sinners as
possible.
Prov.
29:24---The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy; he
is put under oath and dare not testify.
a. When you hang around evil people
you are going to run into the problem of guilt by association. It
is inevitable they will commit sin and you will be tainted by your
association with them. You are harming yourself by being around
them.
2. Flirtatious and/or
sexually promiscuous women (or men).
Prov. 2:16---It
[wisdom] will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward
wife with her seductive words, 17 who has left the partner of her
youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.
a. This person is a covenant
breaker. She/he has no respect for God's moral laws. She/he is only
interested in a good time and will seek to convince others with
smooth talk to party along with her.
Prov.
2:19---None who go with her return or attain the paths
of life.
a. Sexual immorality is a sin in
which you lose something you can never fully regain. God will
forgive and a pure pattern can be reestablished, but virginity and
innocence are gone forever.
Prov. 5:8---Keep to a path far from her [the
adulteress], do not go near the door of her house.
a. Again, the answer is to stay as
far away from such situations as possible. Note the following
warning to the fool:
Prov.
6:27-28---27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without
his clothes being burned? 28 Can a man walk on hot coals without
his feet being scorched?
a. Dabbling in flirtatious behavior
is like playing with fire. You WILL get burned.
3. The simple, the mocker, and the
fool.
Prov.
1:22---How long will you simple ones love your simple
ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate
knowledge?
a. The simple are those who are
naïve and ignorant.
b. Mockers or scorners are those who
commit more serious deliberate acts.
c. Fools or obstinate unbelievers
are those who will not listen to truth.
d. Proverbs aims its wisdom
primarily at the first group.
Prov.
1:32---For the waywardness of
the simple will kill them…
a. The ignorant without knowledge
will tend to be easily led astray. This is why the learning of
truth and gaining of wisdom is so essential.
Prov.
9:7---Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
a. The mocker is arrogant and his
pride will not accept being told he is wrong. The wise man, on the
other hand, appreciates rebuke and advice.
Prov.
18:2---A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but
delights in airing his own opinions.
a. The fool is not teachable, but is
impressed with himself and his own folly.
4. The angry man/woman:
Prov.
21:19---Better to live in a desert than with a
quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
a. DO NOT marry someone who cannot
control their emotions. You will be miserable!
Prov.
22:24-25---24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered
man, do not associate with one easily angered, 25 or you may learn
his ways, and get yourself ensnared.
a. If you hang around hot-tempered
people one of two things will tend to happen. (1) You will get sick
of it and stop being friends with them. (2) You will begin to pick
up their belligerent attitude yourself.
Prov.
29:22---An angry man stirs up dissension, and a
hot-tempered one commits many sins.
a. An angry man is hard to get along
with. He is always stirring up trouble. Be friends with him and you
will always be around much turmoil. You may have trouble finding
other friends, because of your association with him. He is not
well-liked. He is avoided by others.
5. Co-signing and guaranteeing
other's loans:
Prov.
22:26-27---26 Do not be a man who strikes hands in
pledge or puts up security for debts; 27 If you lack the means to
pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.
Prov.
11:15---He who puts up security for another will
surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is
safe.
a. If you guarantee loans, you must
assume that you will end up paying it and have the means to do so.
Loans guaranteed should be treated in your finances as money that
you are able to lose. You are putting yourself at risk. If you
can't afford to lose the money, don't do it.
6. Friendship with a
gossip:
Prov. 17:4---A
wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a
malicious tongue.
Prov. 16:28---A
perverse man stirs up dissension and a gossip separates close
friends.
a. To either gossip or listen to
gossip takes a wicked heart. If a friend is a gossip, he/she ought
to be rebuked. If we are friends with a gossip, we either confront
their sin or we listen to their gossip. There is no middle ground.
We are either a part of the solution or a part of the
problem.
