The Company You Keep

Companions of fools are harmed by the company they keep.

Ok, so the old adage is true - “You will be as stupid as your friends.”  That’s not exactly how it goes but it is still true.  As human beings we tend to take the easiest possible route through life.  Rather than buck the trend, we will more likely go along with the crowd and suffer the consequences.  For this reason the company you keep is extremely important.  

Great minds have been wasted on poor company.  You likely saw it happen in your school years.  I remember a beautiful, smart young lady at my high school that ended up dead one Saturday night when the car she was riding in with friends did not make the turn and ended up hitting a tree.  The driver and passengers had been consuming alcohol and several of them paid the ultimate price that night.  

Proverbs 13:20 states that the “companion of fools will suffer harm.” There are no two ways about it.  If you keep company with fools you will be harmed.  It may be the consequence of your actions or it very well may be an overflow consequence from the actions of your foolish companions.  Regardless of the cause of the harm, you have 100% ownership of it.  You choose your company.  Therefore, you choose the consequences of your company.  

Of course there is the possibility that you are the fool, in which case this proverb probably means very little to you. But if you are a person who finds themselves in the company of fools and you don’t like suffering harm, it would be a good idea to make a change now.