Who Influences Us?
Good Morning,
Proverbs 13:20 works for all people.
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
We all believe young people can be badly influenced by their crowd, but we forget that adults can also be moved by their associations. Let us remember Adam and Eve; Adam made a terrible choice because of the influence of Eve. She was not a bad lady, but she had been listening to the wrong “YouTube teacher.” Suddenly her thinking was off track, and this led to leading her husband to wrong thinking as well.
In 1 Kings 11:1-3, we read about Solomon being influenced to stray from God by the women he loved.
As Moses led Israel in the wilderness, Korah, Dathan, and others led the people astray.
Numbers 16:2 “And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:”
vs. 3 “And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”
Korah and others, who were men of “renown,” were misled, and as a result, they led 250 men to rebel against Moses. Sometimes people of good reputation get off base, and if we do not pay attention, we will follow the wrong people.
Here is the solution in that situation.
Moses had a track record of having God’s blessing; from the ten plagues to the water from the rock, Moses had been established as a trustworthy man to follow. (2 Timothy 3:14 gives similar instruction on who to listen to.) Korah and those men had nothing but complaints and slander toward Moses. They had “social media” and big mouths, but no track record worth believing. Foolish people found themselves in trouble for listening to these “men of renown,” and resulted in their own ruin.
This same scenario plays out again at Kadish. The people of Israel waited for forty days as one chosen man from each tribe investigated the Promised Land.
Numbers 13:2 “Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.”
vs. 3 “And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.”
Do you remember the children’s song, “Ten Were Bad and Two Were Good?” Although these men were men of esteem and respected among their peers, the majority of the men were not right. Moses, the time-tested leader, along with Joshua and Caleb, all agreed that the land was theirs as a gift from God. Sadly, the poor choice of influence caused several million Israelites to turn back to the wilderness and stay there until all of the adults died. God cared for them; God provided food, water, and clothing, but they never enjoyed the victory and blessings that were prepared for them.
Listening to the wrong people is costly.
Leaving Sinai, the mixed multitude complained. This complaining group was made up of the Egyptian people who left with Israel believing that God was real.
Numbers 11:4 “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?”
vs. 5 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:”
The mixed multitude began to complain, and the complaining led to the Israelites joining the conversation of returning to Egypt. Wrong associations moved them to foolish talk which cost many lives.
After the Lord rose from the dead, Peter went back to fishing, and others joined him in returning to their former lives. The friends and associates we have do make a difference, and today this influence certainly includes media. To whom do we listen? Who do we watch ? Whose twitter feed do we follow? The truth remains firm; we must be guarded about who influences us.
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
Pastor