Do not learn the
ways of the nations
(Jeremiah 10:2).
When my son Ben was
about 4 years old (he’s now 21), he witnessed a little girl launch a tantrum to
assert her will over her parents. I could see the wheels turning in his little
head: Brilliant! He tried it a couple times but found out it wouldn’t work in our
family… not usually anyway.
On more than one
occasion I have counseled my children: “Be a good influence on your friends;
don’t let them be a bad influence on you.”
Perhaps a similar
sentiment can be found in God’s heart for his people Judah as communicated
through the prophet Jeremiah. The indictment is that Judah has been persuaded
to walk in the ways of its neighbors and follow their gods.
It is a dangerous
thing to brush shoulders with those who do not hold our values and beliefs. We
are called to be the salt of the earth, but salt must come into contact with
food to season or preserve it (Matthew 5:13). We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20). As ambassadors we have
to ask ourselves, Am I rubbing off on society – or is society
rubbing off on me? How can we live
in the real world without getting sucked in?
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).
TODAY’S MEDITATION
How can we be a good
influence on others (or society) without others (or society) being a bad
influence on us?
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