It matters who you allow yourself to be surrounded by on a daily basis. Growing up, my mama would always say to me, “You are the company you keep, Ashlee.” I would roll my eyes covered in glitter eyeshadow, as I typed in a chat room on dial-up internet and think to myself, “what does this old lady know about being a teenager?”
Let’s fast forward to 2022 and here I am with high-speed internet, no telephone cords attached to a Macbook Air that weighs less than my purse…no makeup, not even concealer to hide my dark circles and hair that should have been washed two days ago…the. exact. same. age. as that old lady with two teenagers of my own.
Boy, did she know some stuff.
See, she knew that if I surrounded myself with people that engaged in sinful behavior, didn’t go to church and chose to make poor decisions on a habitual basis…eventually I would end up doing the same thing. If I am being honest, I made good decisions most of the time. But, when I decided to allow myself to be surrounded by those who didn’t hold value to the things that I thought were important, over time they would lose value in my life, too.
That exactly how the Israelites were in the Bible. God told them to drive out the pagan people from the land that He told them was theirs for the taking. The people were worshiping false gods, participating in some pretty awful rituals and lifestyles and God told His people to get them out!
Drive them out.
Well, we know they didn’t listen very well. Instead of removing the people out of the land that was meant for them, they allowed them to stay and live among them, making them hired help and eventually allowing their children to marry the children of the pagan people. In deciding to let them stay in the land…they ended up allowing idol worship to creep into their lives. They started looking more like the people that God told them to get rid of, not live among.
My mama was right. Maybe she read ‘bout them Israelites, too…when people pecked on typewriters and glitter was only on Christmas decorations…not eyelids.
Who you choose to hang around matters.
If you continue to hang around people that God has told you to drive out of your life, you are dishonoring God. Many times the Holy Spirit has told you to push yourself away from someone or a situation because it is detrimental to your walk with the Lord, yet you keep going back and poking the fire that is melting down the golden calf of idol worship. We are called to love, but as believers who are set apart from this world, we are not called to surround ourselves in sinful behavior, sinful people and expect it not to rub off on us like glitter eyeshadow. Those people that you need to drive out are only breathing death into your life. Don’t abandon the truth that you know for their lies and do not let them keep you from fulfilling the purpose He has for your life.
Surround yourself with those that breathe life into you, encourage your walk with the Lord and pray for you. Be intentional with who you allow to influence you. What you let others say and do around you penetrates your mind and will eventually take over your heart, if you allow it to reside long enough.
Don’t let the darkness of others, dull the sparkle of light in you.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for something that we should find invaluable…don’t let someone that doesn’t know the cost of your salvation try and get you to discount it like an out-dated Dell computer at a garage sale. You are called to be set apart and peculiar to this world…like glitter eyeshadow in 2022.
Shine bright.
