Daily Devotionals

Bride and Gloom Week 2: Friday

Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33

I have heard it said that we are the sum of the five people we spend the most time around. It is true that the people we see and spend time with often have a significant amount of influence over us. We also have a tremendous amount of influence over them. In light of this, we must take seriously the influence others can have over us. We also have to take the influence that we have over others seriously. Adam and Eve learned the influence we humans can have on each other very quickly, for better or worse.

Scripture teaches us to choose wisely the people we surround ourselves with. Adam and Eve learned this in Genesis 3 when they disobeyed God and introduced sin into the world. Eve chose to eat fruit from a tree that God had instructed her not to eat from and then gave a piece of the fruit to Adam, who had been right there with her the whole time. They could have convinced each other to choose obedience by not eating the fruit. But instead, they used their influence to give in to sin together.

We also read about our potential to influence each other in the New Testament. The apostle Paul said it this way: “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Make no mistake, the people impact us we spend our time with, for good or bad. After all, if bad company corrupts, the opposite must also be true. Good company builds us up. Because of this, we must surround ourselves with people who are positive influences in our lives who build us up. Proverbs 13:20 offers us this advice about who we surround ourselves with, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” Once again, this verse reminds us that we become like those we spend time with. If we spend time with wise people, we will make better decisions. If we spend time with foolish people, we will find ourselves in troubling circumstances.

 The Scripture that we have studied today makes it clear that we must intentionally surround ourselves with people who point us in the direction of Christ. Who we allow to influence us matters. So let’s be influenced by people who build us up, help us live wisely, and encourage us to be more like Jesus.

Moving toward action

Think about the top 5 people you spend time with. How are they influencing you? How have they had a positive impact on you? Is there any area where their influence has been hurtful? How have you influenced the people in your life? How can you be intentional about positively influencing the lives of the people around you?

Going Deeper

1 Corinthians 15:1-34 (NLT)

"Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you-unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church.

10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me-and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

12 But tell me this-since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God-for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, "God has put all things under his authority." (Of course, when it says "all things are under his authority," that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) 28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

29 If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. 32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts-those people of Ephesus-if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, "Let's feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!" 33 Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character." 34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don't know God at all."