“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (1 Cor. 15:33)
Many of us can remember our mothers’ admonition to stay away from the “wrong crowd”. Somehow the careless lifestyle of some men “rubs off on us” and we become somewhat like them, or at least sympathetic to their evil ways, which still brings us a little closer to their lifestyle. The flesh appeals to flesh, and the spirit appeals to the spirit, it’s just that simple. We ought to run with those that are like-minded, at least in the prioritized things of the spirit; we are concerned who our children run with, but we become very lax in choosing our own friends, as if this verse were for children only! Though I chose a New Testament verse for the text verse, the Bible supports this in the Old testament also: let’s look at Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” The destruction comes as a result of choosing the way of the foolish, and walking in it. Their end is only destruction; on the other hand, we can learn wisdom by walking with wise men. It is important to choose your friends; it is important to choose your children’s friends, since they have fewer scruples in these matters than you do!
I have coined a phrase to support this verse (although God’s Word does not need my support), and that is “Manners are the beginning of morals”. You see, many quote this as saying “Evil communications corrupt good morals”; now, I am vehemently opposed to changing the scripture, but when we get to the root of the matter, good morals finds their beginning with good manners generally; of course there will be exceptions that come to mind as you read this, but generally morals begin with manners. Here’s what Webster says about it:
Manners
MAN'NERS, n. plu. Deportment; carriage; behavior; conduct; course of life; in a moral sense.
Yes, it is still important that we “run with the right crowd”. Sometimes it is better that we separate even from fellow Christians! There are saved people that we are not compatible with; there are some that affect us in a negative way, and we need to avoid them the best we can. I don’t men that we should completely ignore them, but just that we can’t spend a lot of time with them on a personal level. By the way, this is a great truth to remember concerning our children too. Do you know that even Christian kids get into mischief? Of course you do! Sometimes we need to be aware of who are children are close to; are they what you would want your child to be? Bad company indeed does corrupt good manners.
