Monkeys

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  1 Corinthians 15:33

Sometimes as parents, we quote this verse to our children a lot during their teenage years.  But for me every time it's preached, it brings a smile to my face, not because of how many times I quoted it to my own children but because of something my mother told me when I was a child myself.  Often times, my mom would allow me to have a friend over for dinner.  It was her way of getting to know the type of friends I chose to hang around with.  Dinner would be fun, entertaining and full of laughter, and then the moment we closed the door behind my friend's departure, my mom would turn to me and say, "I don't want you hanging around with her anymore."  I would drop my jaw, fold my arms across my chest and say, 'Why not?'  She would smile and say, 'Because monkey see monkey do, and I don't want my monkey doing that!'

My mother observed during a casual dinner, the type of character or mannerisms my friend would display, and either she liked them, or she didn't; and then I was warned.

Wouldn't you think that you could instill your good habits to those who have bad habits?

Hmm, sometimes, but often that is not the case.  Rather, we develop the bad habits and lose our good ones.

And so, we are told, don't fool yourselves!

I like to flip the coin and look at things on the other side.  

We are warned by this verse to be careful about who we hang out with, because we will pick up their bad habits, traits and character, but I had to ask myself, "Would I corrupt someone if they spent time with me?"

Was I ever invited over to a childhood friend's house for dinner, and the moment I left, did their mother tell them, 'You can't play with her anymore!?'

I hope not.  I hope when people are around me, they can see that I want to please God even though I will fail.  I hope they can see the desire I have to help them in their Christian walk and not cause them to stumble.

    But that's just me!

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never ever dream of.  There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."  Fred Rogers