The Monumental Power Of Keeping Good Company

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

If we desire to level up and live in serenity, we must be cautious and do our best to keep good company.

Introduction

Serenity is real, and those living in serenity keep good company.  The company you keep, whether family, friends, or acquaintances, can either help to build you up or tear you down.  The next challenge you can face in leveling up and living in serenity can come from the company you keep.  

The Cost of Keeping Bad Company

My dad had a saying about having friends that I often made fun of when I was a little boy.  You see, when you were a kid, having lots of friends was everything!  My dad, in all of his wisdom, would always speak about how he could count the number of friends he had using just a few fingers.  My dad said that having friends comes at a great price.

I didn’t understand what he meant back then, but now that I have lived, I understand his thought quite clearly.  You see, serenity for my dad was being with his family – family was everything to him.  

Sadly, many of us are keeping bad company in our lives and we don’t even realize it.  Because we don’t realize that we are surrounded by bad company, many of us don’t realize the effect that bad company is having on us.  I feel it necessary today to share with you what bad company looks like, how it moves, and how it can affect you in your soul.

Job’s horrendous day

The story of Job is a good one to share with you because in Job’s story, we can see bad company in action and the effect that it can have on someone.  

Job’s story truly began on a day when scripture tells us that the sons of God presented themselves before the Lord (Job 1:6).  On that day, Satan came with God’s angels to give a report of what he had been up to.  Satan told the Lord that he had been going to and fro, back and forth on the earth (Job 1:7).  As Peter said, the devil likes to see whom he may consume and devour (1 Pet. 5:8).

The Lord asked Satan if he had considered his servant Job.  You see, the Lord saw Job as a blameless man, one who was upright, and feared Him (Job 1:8).  You see, Job was the perfect candidate for the devil, as he truly believed that man, when tested, would turn against God.

So, the devil set out against Job.  In Job 1:13-17, we’re told that Job’s wealth and livelihood were attacked and lost.  In Job 1:18-19, we’re told that even Job’s children died because a bad windstorm blew across the wilderness, destroying the home they were in.  

Within a matter of moments, Job had lost everything as a part of Satan’s desire to get a faithful man to denounce the Lord.  Yet, we’re told in Job 1:22 that in all that had happened, Job did not blame nor did he denounce the Lord.  Job remained faithful, proving the devil wrong.

So, there was another day that came when the songs of God presented themselves before the Lord, and the devil reported again (Job 2:1-2).  Once again, the Lord asked Satan if he had considered Job, a man who still held fast to his faith while having been tried (Job 2:3).  This time around, Satan was in a mood, truly believing that if a faithful man is afflicted, then he will surely denounce the Lord (Job 2:4-6).

Again, the devil set out against Job, trying to prove his point.  We’re told in Job 2:7 that the devil struck Job with boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head.  Yet, again, in the attacking of his physical health, Job 2:10 tells us that Job did not sin with his lips!  

The faithful man remained faithful, even in a horrendous day.  You see, this is what faith looks like!  Faith remains loyal, even in a day when one is afflicted so greatly!

The actions of bad company

In a day when Job had lost everything and had suffered so greatly, though he was remaining faithful, he would still need some uplifting from those around him, right?

In Job 2:9, we can see the way Job’s wife moved.  Job’s wife questioned why he still held fast to his faith in all that had happened.  You can imagine her questioning how he could be so faithful to God.

You could imagine that she asked Job how he could remain so faithful when they had lost their wealth and livelihood.  You could imagine she questioned how he could remain faithful after they had lost their children and had fallen into such poor health.  She told Job to curse God and die!  Does it sound like she was being good company?

Then, in Job 2:11, we’re told that Job’s three friends came from their homes to sit with Job.  We are told that they sat with Job on the ground for seven days, seven nights, not saying a word to him (Job 2:13).  They just sat there and watched him, seeing that his grief was great.  You know, some folks love to come around so that they can sip tea and feel good about themselves.

When Job finally opened his mouth, it was to curse the day he was born (Job 3:1).  Job’s three friends, you would think, were there to help lift him up in day of grief, right?  Yet, scripture shows us that each friend was there, thinking to themselves, ‘Finally, the truth has come out about you.’  Scripture shows that each one of his ‘friends’ took a turn casting stones, figuratively, at Job.

Job 4:7,17 shows us where the first friend, Eliphaz, accused Job of having committed a great sin, which was why he was suffering.  Job 8:1-6, shows us where the second friend, Bildad, told Job that he and his family had it coming!  Bildad told Job that he needed to admit to his crime and repent!

Then, in Job 11:4-5, 13-15, the third friend, Zophar, called Job a liar about his integrity, and just like Bildad, told Job to confess and repent.  What good is it to have enemies when you have friends like that?  All three of these friends believed they spoke with great wisdom, when we know they are far from the truth!  

Bad Company Does the Opposite of Good

You see, this is how bad company moves:  it does the opposite of what good company would do!  

Jesus taught us that good company, when compelled to go one mile, it will go an extra mile (Matt. 5:41).  Bad company won’t go a mile with you, nonetheless, go an extra mile.  

You see, many of us have our dreams and aspirations, hoping to have support from those who are around us, but bad company won’t support you!  You can have the desire to level up in your life, and bad company will tell you that you are crazy for even trying!  In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul warned about keeping bad company as bad company will corrupt good habits!

Jesus taught us that we ought to be prayerful for everybody (Matt. 5:44)!  Bad company will say that they will keep you in their thoughts and prayers, but won’t ever think about you or pray for you.

Jesus taught us that we ought not judge one another, but that we should work on ourselves first before trying to correct someone else (Matt. 7:1-5).  Bad company is happy to judge and condemn from a self-righteous throne!

You must be careful of keeping bad faith allies who will say one thing, but behind the veil will stand against your every move to elevate yourself and live in serenity.  This is why so many of us are suffering today:  many put their belief into bad-faith allies who smiled in their face and then moved against them.  

To recognize whether or not you are keeping bad company, we must keep in mind what sincere love looks like.  We know what sincere love looks like because God has shown it to us, and still shows it to us.  We know what sincere love looks like because we have learned how to love ourselves, even in our imperfections.  Such manner of love is what ought to keep you from settling for less.

Good Company Moves the Lord

Mark 2:1-12 stands in contrast to what we’ve seen in the Book of Job, as this scripture shows us what good company looks like.

Mark 2:1-12 takes place at a home in Capernaum, where Jesus was teaching.  Mark 2:1-2 shows us that there was a great crowd at this home, as the people were so packed in that people had also packed in outside of the house to be able to hear Jesus’ teaching.

In Mark 2:3, we’re told that four men had brought with them to this house a paralytic man.  Why had they come to the house with the paralytic?  They desired to bring the paralytic to Jesus so that Jesus could heal him.  

So, already, we see a great difference between the company of this paralytic and the company Job kept.  Now, we don’t know if these four men were family of the paralytic or not.  We can, at the least, assume that these four men were friends or acquaintances of the paralytic.  So, these four men were good company since they sought for the paralytic to be made well.

In their effort to bring the paralytic to Jesus, they found themselves having a big problem – the packed house.  Now, did the packed crowd stop these four men from getting the paralytic to Jesus?  We’re told that these men went on top of the house and began to uncover the roof (Mark 2:4)!  When they finally broke through, they let the bed that the paralytic was lying on down to Jesus.

Now, I want you to pay very close attention to Jesus’ response to the effort of these four men.  We are told that when Jesus saw their faith, He then dealt personally with the paralytic.  Jesus forgave the paratlyics sins, saving him, and physically healed him (Mark 2:11-12).  Faith, I want you to understand, is moving, living, and breathing.  Faith puts forth its best effort!  

The effort of these men’s faith moved Jesus!  You see, these men not only went a mile with the paralytic, they went the extra mile!  This is what good company does!  Ask yourself:  Will the company you keep uncover a roof for you so that you can level up?  Will the company you keep take you to the one who is able to elevate you?

The Uplifting of Good Company

Where bad company will work to bring you down, good company will work to lift you up.  The written inspiration of the Spirit, the word of God, makes it clear that this is what good company ought to do!  

In Proverbs 27:17, the familiar proverb tells us that as iron sharpens iron, so will a good friend do for another.  In James 5:16, good company is encouraged to pray for one another because the fervent prayer of the righteous makes much available.  In Hebrews 10:24, we see that good company is able to stir up love and good works in each other!

Are you keeping the kind of company that will sharpen you, encourage you, pray for you, motivate you, and bring out the best in you?  Or are you keeping the kind of company that Job had, which works to make you feel bad?  What kind of company are you?  To be clear:  good compay uplifts, encourages, prays, motivates, and helps another to succeed and live in serenity!

We Have the Power to Empower

My dad used to say that we needed to throw logs on the fire for each other in a figure of speech when he spoke about prayer in fellowship.  I believe we underestimate what we are capable of doing in our love and fellowship.  The reason why I say this is because we aren’t moving together, for and with each other, as much as we could.  Because of that, we can see the effects of our lack of love and fellowship in our land.

You see, our love and fellowship can move the Lord, and the reason why that is the case is because God loves to see faith in action.  When we move to uplift each other, that is a showing of faith in its most purest form!  As Jesus was moved by the faith of the four men, He will be moved by our efforts for each other.

So, I repeat to you today, this is how we should move for each other so that we can further empower one another.  We should go the extra mile!  In a time like now, we ought to be checking in on each other as much as possible!  In a time like now, we ought to talk with each other as much as possible.  Yes, we must find a way to truly support one another in any way we are able to do so!

John wrote that our joy is full when we move in such a manner of fellowship with God and each other (1 John 1:3,4).  I truly do believe what is missing today is that joy in fellowship.  I truly do believe today that so many of us are living in misery because we aren’t surrounded by the good company that will help to lift us out of the mire!

So, I say to you today, be careful of the company you keep.  The company you keep can either lift you up or tear you down.  If someone in the company you keep does not put forth the effort of helping you to level up, why are you keeping them near to you?

Don’t keep anyone in your company who does not work with you, supporting you, and helping you to level up and live in serenity!    At the same time, you are the company of another, and if you aren’t doing your best to help them achieve, why are you there?  We are all in this together, and we must do better so that all of us can level up and live in serenity.