TAKE THE MEAT & LEAVE THE BONES

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”
I found, upon doing a little digging, that the above quote was written by the Greek poet Menander. This tells us that Paul was cultured, in that he was familiar with current Greek poetry and that he wasn’t singularly focused on Christ to the exclusion of all else.

I am a firm believer that truth is truth wherever you find it. An example of that are the Rolling Stones. I have never liked the Rolling Stones. Never cared for their music. Never cared for their lyrical content. However, I believe a small nugget of truth can be found in the chorus of one of their hit songs. “You can’t always get what you want, you can always get what you want, you can’t always get what you want; but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.” Simple, yet somewhat profound. It is a lyric that I have always liked. It isn’t from the Bible; it isn’t prophetic and it wasn’t uttered by a believer. But I believe there is truth in this statement nonetheless. A lady from my past once said, “You take the meat and leave the bones”.

Our scripture today quotes a secular poet, yet states a truth that is inescapable. Your life reflects the company you keep. What you think and say is a reflection of what you feed into your mind on a daily basis. What are you feeding your mind today?

Keeping bad company corrupts your morals. You invariably succumb to peer pressure and begin acting out what you have absorbed from your association with them. Your vision becomes cloudy. Your decision making becomes sketchy. You no longer make good choices that please God. You are feeding the black dog within to the exclusion of the white one, allowing him to take over.

MISLED (past tense of mislead) defined  MISLEAD defined: 1.To lead in the wrong direction.
2. To lead into error of thought or action, especially by intentionally deceiving.

Make no mistake about it; the enemy of your soul WILL led you in the wrong direction, intentionally deceiving you, if you allow him to. In the true spirit of the meaning of Ephesians 4:26, “… do not give the devil a foothold”. Do not allow him even a toehold. But how do we resist this vile tempter?

James 4:7-8 (NIV) “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

Now here is a truth you need commit to memory.

“Turn your upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face; and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” After Christ, nothing else matters.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!