The above scriptural passage comes from 1 Corinthians 15: 33, and it is as true as it was spoken back then, as it is so today. Those that believe, that their good character, will always triumph over evil, sin, and the like, don’t seem to comprehend how insidious and corrupting bad company can actually be. For instance, the greatest evil in this world, doesn’t typically come forth from people that look and behave like evil, or even necessarily from those that speak with a lot of vitriol and hatred; but rather, evil has a way of finding a path into people by often giving the illusion of one thing, but representing at its core, something far more sinister and wrong.
While confidence has its place, it is difficult for even the best of us, to remain and to be forever diligent at all times and at all seasons, day-by-day -- for many of us, in order to get done what needs to be done, have a strong tendency to let down our guard, if not so immediately, at least after some period of time with others. That is to say, as good as the defense that we might have as part of our natural good character, what we often find is that when nothing untoward appears to have occurred to us or has been perceived by us, there is thereby a common tendency to be far less leery of that which deserves to be held at a respectful distance.
Quite clearly, we don’t always know bad company, by simply the looks of it, for sometimes such bad company doesn’t begin to rear its ugly head, until they have us in a somewhat compromising position, and then for a certainty, we know that we aren’t where we need or should be. Of course, there are also those cases of bad company that are pretty cut and dry from the get-go, but we, for instance, let our natural curiosity get the better of us, or believe that a little of this or a little of that, doesn’t fundamentally change who we are -- never seeming to comprehend that the first step in the wrong direction, is often followed by yet another step in that same wrong direction. All that said, it is also true, that not everything that appears to be of bad company is actually bad company, for sometimes our prejudgment is seriously wrong, so that we have, in effect, an obligation to be just, fair, and kind to the degree that we are so capable, to all people that we come across, but we need also to be cognizant that we must remain always steadfast and true to our good character and thereby prudent, so of.
There are a multitude of ways to be deceived, of which, sometimes such deceiving is done by the other party; whereas, other times we deceive ourselves, by wanting to believe something is fine and harmless, while knowing in our heart, that this isn’t really true. We are, by nature, social creatures, which can lend itself to congregating with those that don’t have our best interests in mind, of which, God has provided us with the free will as well as the discernment, so that in those uncomfortable situations, we can by our own volition, walk away.