My mom always told me to be careful with the company that I keep. There was a time when I surrounded myself with people that hindered my spiritual growth. The choices and the decisions that they made; were beginning to influence the decisions that I made. Though I take accountability for my own choices; it was all too easy to act like the company that I kept. Through the years, I have had to leave certain situations; work, environments, people. I did not stop caring about some of the people I left, I just knew that I needed to grow and could not in that environment. I do hope someday those individuals find their growth with God though too. I have had my own folly over the years and I have had to make many changes in my life to be able to grow to where I am now. These days I surround myself with those that have a great love for God and encourage my walk with Him. This has made such a difference in my life and my walk with God. The environments and people that I surround myself with now, help my growth in becoming the woman that God has purposed for me. Friend, we must ask ourselves; does what and who we are surrounding ourselves with, help us grow or influence us negatively? For bad company is like an overgrown weed in the garden of our soul, hindering our growth in Christ. However, good company is like good soil, helping us grow, in our faith.

Erin Fitts-Brower

1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Psalms 1:1-2 NIV

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Proverbs 13:20 NIV

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.