There is a scripture in the Bible that talks about how evil commmunication corrupts good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). I used to think that it was solely talking about our choice of words, but it goes much deeper than that. You see not only do we need to be careful of what we say, we need to be careful of who we allow ourselves to be entangled with. Or in other words, watch who we hang around.
Have you ever heard the saying birds of a feather flock together? In some instances this is true but not always. When I was a teenager, I remember being stigmatized depending on the people I was hanging out with. If I was hanging around straight A students, my peers labeled me as a nerd. When I was with my cheerleader friends, people would say I was acting as if I was better than others. When I skipped class with my friends, I was considered to be a problem child and rebellious. Most of our actions are either done under pressure, to please others or to be seen as someone we are not.
We must be careful of who we entertain and get involved with because not everyone has our best interest in mind. Some people have been sent our way to sabotage our lives and leave us holding the bag of disappointment. I know too many people who have gotten caught up in messy situations and the culprit is long gone and out of the picture. I can recall countless times when God gave me warnings of the dangers ahead and I suffered immensely because I ignored them. Do not let this be your story. Learn to heed the signs and what some people call, your gut feeling. It does not matter if they are blood relatives or someone you consider to be a friend, be very careful of the company that you keep.