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128 S 8th Street,

DuBois PA 15801

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Proverbs 13 : 20: “WALK WITH the WISE and BECOME WISE, for a COMPANION OF FOOLS SUFFERS HARM.”

This passage is God’s way of asking; who is speaking into your life? Wise or foolish people?

What is concerning is that some of us don't even know. This is serious if we are going to mature and grow spiritually. If they act foolish - give foolish advice, believe foolish things, go to foolish places, etc... if they are toxic for you.... end the relationship. If you think God has called them to be your 'Becky' then minister to them, but don't be a companion of them.

The first part of proverbs 13:20 is a promise. - Wisdom is contagious. This means if you surround yourself with people who the bible conciders wise, you just being in their presence will make you become a wiser person.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND I IN YOU, YOU WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.”

John 15 : 5

“For the Lord gives SKILLFUL and GODLY Wisdom; from His mouth come KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING.”

Proverbs 2 : 6

That is why you need to be careful about who is giving you advice and pay attention to where you are going for advice. You may be going to people who you know will tell you what you want to hear - not what you need to hear.

If anyone is either telling you anything that is contrary to God's Word, that is your sign that they are the wrong person to be going to advice for. Not everyone who is giving us advice has our best interest in mind. The truth is, sometimes they're telling you what to do so that they can get something from you.

A wise person is a person who understands that all life is connected. What you do/decide/think about today will influence who you are tomorrow. There are no isolated events, thought patterns, relationships, eating habits, addictions. A wise person makes decisions based on tomorrow. Scripture teaches that if you hang out and do life with people who make decisions based on how it will impact everyone around them, it will impact how YOU view the world, yourself, choices, morality, and your life around you. That's the promise. But be warned, foolish principle works a little differently that the wise principle. The warning is not that you will automatically become a fool by simply hanging out with fools. A companion of fools will eventually be impacted by the behaviors of the fool. You may never see the world they way a fool does, or even behave the way a fool does... but eventually the shrapnel of that comes from the explosion of their life will impact you.

A ‘Fool’: is someone who knows the difference between right and wrong but doesn't care.

They're not open to correction. They reject dicipline and are not teachable.

The 'wise' on the other hand, are open to correction and leads into discipline, and is teachable.

4 DO NOT ANSWER a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

5 ANSWER a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26 : 4 – 5

Verse 4:

Don't lower yourself to the fools level by answering his silly questions or arguing with him because eventually you may be impacted and led to utter folly yourself. Eventually, you will take on his opinions or even practices.

Verse 5:

Answer according to his folly as his folly deserves, expose his foolishness. Eventually you may be deceived into thinking in your mind that he had said something worth hearing. Or his foolish talk might sound like superior intelligence which will cause you to confused in the moment and then be silenced. Answer a fool in such a way that brings shame to his foolish behavior. When you expose his foolishness it automatically brings shame with it. We expose and shame the folly of a fool to bring them back to a better mind. But don't try to correct or answer a fool because they don't care. You can't give a fool new information. If you do try to answer a fool, use sharp wisdom that cuts like a double edged sword. You need discernment. Don't lower yourself to his level.

Scripture teaches that the keeping the company of fools eventually causes you harm. Remember, your friends ultimately influence and may even determine the quality and direction of your life.