13th January, 2022.

START THE YEAR ON THE RIGHT FOOT Pt.13

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed. KJV

CHOOSE YOUR COMPANY WISELY

I once found myself in a circle of guys that drink and chase after girls several years ago. I can vividly remember that most of our discussions centred around girls, sexual exploits and booze. That period of time in my life was short but I did everything those guys did. On one occasion, I got drunk on gin. One of the guys in my circle of friends was a motivator of all the evil I did. Whenever I wanted to visit the red light district, he'll follow me but will never enter with me. It was a thing of pride then because the next day when we meet, we'll discuss what happened the previous day and score ourselves. I never knew I was mortgaging my destiny. Graciously, the grace of God that brings salvation to all men found me and now I'm a preacher of the gospel.

When I switched to the camp of those that are heaven bound, tongue talking and holy living, it rubbed off on me. I've been in this company ever since. No going back. If you will fulfill all that God has for you this year and in the coming years, the company you keep matters. You cannot be in the company of chickens and expect to fly like an eagle. You cannot be in the company of dogs and roar like a lion. The quality of life you want to live this year onwards and the height you want to reach will be determined partly by your association. A wise man said, "your association determines your transformation". Our opening text confirms this. Every man is a product of influence. You are either influenced positively or negatively by the company you keep. You can't be neutral.

The disciples of Jesus were around Jesus for a long time, they were around him until his divinity influenced their humanity. The leaders of their time saw and heard them and they concluded that they had been with Jesus: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus", Acts 4:13. What should determine my circle of friends? It is simply your vision. Your vision should make you selective in your relationship. There are relationships that will kill your vision and ruin all that God has invested in you. We all must have relationships like that of Mary and Elizabeth. When Mary visited Elizabeth, the baby in her womb leaped for joy and she was filled with the Holy Spirit(Luke1:41). That's symbolic of vision. When you find yourself in the company of like minds and great visionaries, something must leap for joy from within. If you are always around those who don't see what you are seeing and aren't going where you are going, it will kill something in you. Divorce from that company. This year shouldn't be like last year.