The Company We Keep
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.
—James 2:23
Abraham is uniquely introduced to us in Scripture as the friend of God. One day God told His friend Abraham that He wanted him to leave his life of paganism and worship of false gods, leave his family, pack his bags, and go. God effectively said, “I want you and your wife, Sarah, to go to a certain place. You don’t even know where it is. I’ll reveal that to you later. But I want you to go.”
Abraham obeyed—sort of. He did leave, which was a big step. And he did leave his family, which was a bigger step. But he took one family member along with him: his nephew Lot, who had a detrimental effect on his uncle.
We all know certain people who build us up spiritually when we’re around them. We come away feeling closer to the Lord and built up in our faith. But we also know people who pull us down spiritually when we’re around them. Lot was the kind of person who pulled Abraham down.
As 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (NKJV).
I’ve had the opportunity to meet and get to know a lot of wonderful, godly men and women who have impressed me deeply. And then I’ve known other Christians who are always ticked off about something. They’re always mad at someone. They remind me of Don Quixote, tilting at windmills. They must always have an adversary or a nemesis. I get very weary of that.
What about you? What kind of influence are you having on others? Are you a godly influence, or are you an ungodly influence? Are you building others up, or are you dragging them down?
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