Here Are My Thoughts

READ: Proverbs 13

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)

We’ve talked a lot about other people as we’ve gone through Proverbs so far this month. But that doesn’t strike me as strange, because Proverbs is a book that teaches how to live life better-and life is just simply better when done in community. We just need good people in our lives-people who support us and care for us and challenge us.

Maybe you heard this phrase when you were growing up: “You are who you run with.” The idea behind this expression is that we are the sum of the people we are closest with. In other words-if we are around wise people, we will become wise. If we are with those who are foolish, we will become foolish. This is what Proverbs 13:20 is saying.

A few years ago, a friend and mentor named Becky gave me a very powerful personal exercise to accomplish. She had me write down, on a card, the 4 most influential people in my life. Then, next to their name, she had me write down the key characteristic that I appreciated from them and wanted to apply to my own life. I try to look at this card often, and keep it in my wallet. Because I want to be like these people, I want to possess the qualities that they possess.

We are who we run with. Our lives do not rise above the quality of the company we keep. Because when we walk with the wise, we become wise.

-Brett