Check Your Input

(Prov 17:4 NASB) An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

Solomon teaches us that people who are evil are predisposed to listen to evil conversation. Scandalous people welcome lies, unfounded rumors, and false accusations. And liars, in turn, enjoy scandalous stories, slander, and endless gossip.

The Contemporary English Version of this verse reads: “Troublemakers listen to troublemakers, and liars listen to liars.” This reminds me of what my mother often told me. She said, “Show me who you hang with and I will tell you who you are” or “show me your friends and I will show you your future.” I know many people don’t think your friends have a major impact on you, but that is far from true. When you surround yourself with the wrong people, you will hear the wrong things – terrible advice, skewed opinions, wicked ideas, etc. – and you run the risk of becoming the wrong person. But then again, are you running the risk of becoming the wrong person by hanging with wicked people, or are you ALREADY there? Are you the person that you are because of the associations you have or do you have the associations because of the person that you are?

The Message Bible paraphrase of this verse reads: “Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.” While it is true that your friends will impact who you will become, I believe that your choice of friends is an indication of who you already are. The kind of talk a man feeds on is a barometer of what he is at heart. At the end of the day, people normally listen to (or feed on) things that enhance their characteristics. For example, you will not be able to hang around me for an extended period of time without me mentioning God or His desire to reach and bless people. Furthermore, I am so conditioned to think positive that it literally irritates me to be around negative people. Negative people with negative talk and with a poor self-image turn me off quickly. I can’t help but start to speak life into them. I know that either they are going to bring me down or I am going to bring them up.

Back in chapter 13 Solomon said, “Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces” (13:20). Solomon’s point is that both wisdom and foolishness are transferred by association. If you allow yourself to listen to lies, gossip, and backbiting, then 1) that says something about your character and 2) it will not be long before you start lying, gossiping, and backbiting. What’s in you abundantly will have to come out of your eventually. And since we are what we eat, it behooves us to carefully filter what we allow through our eye and ear gates. Whatever we allow through our eyes and ears eventually gets down inside our hearts.

So what does this mean to you ? It means that you must check your input. If you currently welcome unrighteous input, then what does that say about you? And do you realize that by feeding yourself with wickedness that you are filling your heart with negativity? Don’t be deceived. Who you hang around and what you listen to MATTERS; and it matters a great deal! So, protect your eye and ear gates. Fill your heart with good things. Feed your faith and starve your doubts.

Surround yourself with people that will stretch you positively, that will build you up, and that will transfer wisdom (not foolishness) into your life.

Father, I avoid wickedness and wicked people. I refuse to allow my heart to be filled with the wrong things! I protect my eye and ear gates. I surround myself with people that will help me feed my faith and starve my doubts; people that will help fan the flames of the vision You have birthed inside of me; people that will speak life, love, peace, and goodness. I surround myself with the right people, because I am the right person, and my associations will help me continue to develop into the person You desire for me to be! In Jesus’ name. Amen!