I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. Psalm 101:3
David is careful about the people he spends time with. He surrounds himself with those who are faithful and virtuous (verse 6). He makes deliberate choices about the character of the people he allows to be in his house and in his presence (verse 7). Not that he refuses to talk to faithless people but rather be won’t allow himself to be swayed by them.
It’s a good model for us. The people we spend most of our time with, affect us for better or worse. If we spend a lot of time with people who lack integrity, it’s easy for us to be influenced by their behaviour, and have our own standards compromised.
It’s not easy to make these types of lifestyle decisions. We’re social people, who enjoy spending time with others. Furthermore, as Christians, we are called to be “salt and light” in our communities (Matthew 5:13). God has promised wisdom and discernment to those who ask (James 1:5). He will let us know if our presence is making a positive difference, or if we’re being negatively impacted and it’s time to remove ourselves from their company.
These lifestyle decisions extended to the choices we make about influences that we allow into our houses and into our minds. We can spend time with people in a virtual setting that we would never consider spending time with in person. Furthermore, we can’t hope to influence these people for good, if we don’t have an authentic relationship with them.
David makes a decision to separate himself from evil behaviour and not give passive assent to evil practices. Let’s do the same.
