Protect your Anointing

(Prov 21:10 CEV) Evil people want to do wrong, even to their friends.


This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs - Walking in the Wisdom of God. Have you ever heard the saying, "If you play with fire you are going to get burned"? Fire only knows one way to be: HOT! It would be foolish to think that fire is going to be something else. It's actually similar with people. Some believers think they can hang out with evil people and not be affected by it, but that is simply not true. Whether we want to admit it or not, the people we hang out with DO wind up rubbing off on us.

We learned this back in chapter 13 where Solomon said, "Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces" (v.20). In other words, both wisdom and foolishness are transferred by association. And if that is the case, then why would you, as a Born-Again believer, willingly CHOOSE to associate with people who are programmed to do wrong? Later on in Proverbs Solomon says, "Don't envy evil people or desire their company" (24:1). He is warning us from hanging around them, because he does not want what's in them to get in us.

You know the type of people I am talking about. In chapter two Solomon says, "They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong" (verses 14,15). In chapter four he says, "Evil people are restless unless they're making trouble; they can't get a good night's sleep unless they've made life miserable for somebody. Perversity is their food and drink, violence their drug of choice" (verses 16,17). These people are unhappy unless they are 'stirring the pot.' They find pleasure in making others miserable. They get excited when they have incriminating evidence so they can spread it as gossip. Solomon says that they can't get a good night's sleep unless they have negatively affected someone's life. In other words, when others are doing well it keeps them up at night. They find a preserve satisfaction in knowing that they have done their part in disrupting the peace of another.

We make hundreds of choices every day. If we think about it, our day is full of choice, after choice, after choice. Getting out of bed in the morning is a choice - one that I sometimes don't like to make. We choose to brush our teeth, take a shower, what we will eat, what we will wear, what path we will take to work, what we will do when we get there, and the list can go on and on. Obviously, some decisions are more important than others and therefore require more deliberation. You should take more time, for example, in choosing whom to marry and connect with for the rest of your life, over what to eat for lunch today. One of the decisions that we should place in the important category is the decision of whom we will call our friend. It's been said that "who you will be in five years will be influenced by the friends you choose and the books you read," so choose both wisely. My mother used to tell me daily, "Show me who you hang with and I will tell you who you are."

So what does this mean to you? A few things:
1. Your friends matter: Show me your friends and I will show you your future. If you get to choose the people you call "friend," then shouldn't you choose wisely? Choose the right friends and they will help you live the right life.
2. Protect your anointing: If you value what God is doing in your life, then you will protect it by refusing to connect with those who may contaminate your anointing.
3. Select Godly mentors: Mentoring relationships are powerful. Mentors enable us to do much more than we can alone. Select your mentors wisely and grant them 'right of passage;' giving them access to speak into your life.

Father, I thank You for this reminder this morning. I know I am called by You. You are both light and love and I declare that I will be the same. I shine as light in the midst of darkness. I flow as love in the midst of hatred and selfishness. I seek to reach the lost daily, but I don't connect with the wicked on a level to where their wickedness can rub off on me. I protect what You have done and are doing in my life, but shielding myself from unrighteousness influences. I am determined to become the man/woman You have destined, designed, and desire for me to be! In Jesus' name. Amen!