Proverbs 13:20 - Walking With The Wise

Proverbs 13:20 - He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Message: Walking with the wise

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying: 

I believe, staring in book 10, Proverbs is a book of one verse proverbs. These verse speaks to the company that wise men keep. It is to be people that are also wise. It is contrasted with fools hanging around fools. 

This reminds me especially of growing up because it is in those growing up years that there is walking alongside people. I have noticed in my life that those that I kept my company with, in different situations or circumstances, were often the ones I ended up being like. In middle school, it was a non-Christian who was living for things of the world and so the world is what I got. In high school, it was both. When I was around the Christians, it was about being a Christian and being Jesus-like, but with the non-Christian, it became skipping school and in pursuit of the pretty girl. And so this verse held true. 

There was a song by Petra that I listened to off of the Never Say Die album. It was called Chameleon. It was written by Bob Hartman.

You want the best of both worlds
You're not getting either
You seem content to ride the fence
When you know which side is greener

Some run hot, some run cold
Some run from their maker
Some run the risk of losing out
With lukewarm friends and fakers

Chameleon, you blend with your surroundings
Chameleon, no one knows where you come from
Chameleon, you change with every situation
Compromising dedication

You compromise each word you say so inoffensively
You only want to hide behind your anonymity
You struggle for acceptance and it takes you to extremes
The smile you hide your face behind is not all that it seems

Come out, come out
Come out from among them
Come out, come out
Come out and be free

There is no gray, no neutral ground
There's only black and white
And nothing in between the two
To turn a wrong into right

There is no time for your charade
You've got to make your stand
When salt has lost its savor
The world becomes so bland

I loved that song and it says it nicely. You become what you hang around. 
 
Promise: Yes, we must walk with the wise, but we also must listen to the wise and emulate their behavior.