You Become Like Those With Whom You Associate

22 Jul

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it.”  ~ Wilferd Peterson

The hoods, nerds, geeks, stoners, and jocks.  These were some of the most prevalent groups when I was in high school.  People seemed to quickly sort themselves into one of those groups — just as the wizards on Harry Potter were sorted into their houses — and they pretty much stayed with their groups.  They spoke the same, often dressed the same, and generally acted the same.  When you saw someone, you could pretty confidently know what to what group they belonged.

Those kinds of delineations of people have never ceased.  Even today, there are ways to know in which circle of people one associates.  They share the same thoughts and often act the same way.  They reinforce — and monitor — each other’s behavior.  They are more often than not very predictable.  So much so that parents still warn their children to be careful about the people with whom they associate.  They fear that, if introduced to the “wrong element”, their children will become like the others.

There is a good reason for their fear because it is true that we often become like the people with whom we associate.  That is why Peterson reminds us to “walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous,” and so forth.  He knows that walking with those kinds of people will help us to become like them as well.  We can draw from their inspiration and their strength.  We can learn what we need to learn in order to become better people ourselves.

If we want to be strong in the faith, we need to associate with those who live the faith.  It is hard to be faithful if we are always among people who do not care about the faith or about the Lord.

FAITH ACTION:  Make sure to associate with other believers.  Set an example for them even as you benefit from their example.