He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20 KJV
In his wisdom, God has created man in his own image. The first man was formed from the dust of the earth as the template for humanity, the first woman from that which was already formed, and all other human beings from there were the result of the union of the man and the woman. God's plan is that man will be fruitful and multiply after his kind, so that all of us, no matter our race, creed or origin, will be connected to another man, by virtue of the family we were born into, the family we marry into, or the family we relocate into. No natural man is born outside of that human connection, and no man can survive for long outside of that human connection. It is therefore foolishness for anyone to think s/he can survive on his/her own without. God, in his infinite wisdom, has made that impossible.
Now, this is the flipside: even with God's plan for human interaction, God's intention is that in the process of time, all the people he intends I meet will cross my path in His own time, not mine. Some of the people that I will meet on this journey of life will cross my path for a reason; others for a season; still others for a lifetime. In essence, wisdom dictates that I know the function of every life that God brings my way, and be able to live with purpose for as long as that reason or season exist, and be able to walk away when the reason or season expires. I cannot fulfil God's purpose all my myself, with no help from anyone; God knows that part of the supply I need for the journey must come from someone else. This is why it really matters who I walk with on this journey.
Today's extract makes the above very clear: I cannot be careless about the people behind my pursuit of God's purpose. The company I keep is important: if I walk with the wise, their wisdom will rub off on me. How does this happen: walking with people means being close enough to observe their private and public lives. Even if other people only observe them from afar, walking with the wise means I am able match their words with their actions. I get to see if there is any deceit or hypocrisy, and if they are indeed wise, it will show in their daily pursuits and priorities. If all I see are worthy examples, both in word and deed, I know the right examples to follow and emulate, and if I do, I also become wise. I do not get wise simply by observation, but by assimilation and practice. Does this describe me?
The opposite is also true: those who walk with fools end up destroyed. How and why does this happen? It is because from God's perspective, fools are defined by one thing: they do not acknowledge God. How can a man who does not care who God is bother with what God wants? If God is not my utmost priority, how can he come to my aid when I am in trouble? If I claim to be independent of God, can I turn around and lay claim to him when I am in trouble? Yes, he may come to my aid, but if I persist in the foolish course of rejecting God, and walking with those who do so, the end is destruction. The consequences of either choice have already been laid out very clearly, and as always, the choice is mine to make. God's time of favour is here.
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