Proverbs 4:10-11, 14-15 - Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years. I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths. Keep off the path of the wicked; don’t proceed on the way of evil ones. Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it, and pass it by.
One summer, one of my teenage granddaughters spent the summer with my wife and me. She and I have a habit of joking a lot and tease each other. One day she walks into the kitchen wearing a green tee shirt. I then proceed to tell her, “Hey, I know why you wore that green shirt today. It’s because you are jealous about how cool I am. I know you are just ‘green with envy’. Papa is so cool!” I smiled and started laughing; she just shook her head and walked off.
About a week later I come home from work and I see her in the kitchen talking to my wife wearing another green shirt. She also happened to be wearing a pair of earbuds. I immediately see the opportunity to tease her again about being jealous of me. As soon as I start talking she points to her earbuds. I ask her, “What’s wrong? Are they not working?”
She says, “No Papa, they work well. They have ‘noise cancellation’ so I can’t hear you.” She then smiles at my wife and walks off. My wife looks at me and says, “Well, you are the one who started it.” My granddaughter had obviously picked up my dry, sometimes sarcastic sense of humor. A summer of being around Papa allowed her to “hone her skills” and “give me a dose of my own medicine”.
Who we associate with and what we listen to have a major influence on our thoughts and attitudes. Your thoughts and attitudes direct your actions. Your habitual actions determine our “way” or path in life. All of this starts with what’s in your heart. And just like your physical body, what you “take in” becomes a part of you and affects your life. Proverbs even instruct us to watch over and guard our hearts with great care (Proverbs 4:23).
If your path in life seems to be littered with pride, deception, constant trouble, or getting caught up in “drama”, (see things that God hates; Proverbs 6:16-19), perhaps your heart has been filled with “seeds of sin” by what you listen to and who you associate with. Perhaps you need to apply some “noise cancellation” to your life to filter out the negative influences. Proverbs 13:20 tells us that if we walk with the wise, we will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Seek out godly influences. Read and meditate on the Word of God. Applying His Word to your life will keep you from stumbling.
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