“He who walks as a companion with wise men is wise, but he who associates with self-confident fools is a fool himself and shall smart for it.” (Amplified Version, Classic Edition)

Solomon, in his God-given wisdom, observed this truth and wrote these words we can take as a warning.

To grasp the depth of his words, we need to slow down and examine what He said. It’s easy to read, “Walk with the wise and become wise.” But it’s more than just hanging out with some wise people once in a while. It’s being a companion with wise people.

What’s the difference? A companion joins in conversations, shares thoughts, receives correction, and learns. More than just walking on the periphery of the journey with another, a companion is fully involved in the journey.

When we involve ourselves in the lives of those who are wise, we grow in wisdom because we are looking to grow and we’ve chosen an excellent resource from which to do so.

When we associate with fools, we are fools ourselves.

Note that the Amplified Version shares the expanded definition of the original language as “self-confident fools.” We all know folks who are unlearned or uncultured, lacking in social skills. We’re not talking about them.

We are talking about those who choose to live foolishly, willfully, arrogantly self-confident in their foolishness. These people are unwilling to admit their judgment could be wrong and propel themselves headlong into whatever comes their way, regardless of consequences.

Associating ourselves with these folks is folly for us. When we know the Truth and Wisdom that is found in God but turn to follow the fake version of either, we have become lacking in our judgment, which is the very definition of foolish!

It is also imperative that we choose to avoid those who are proud of their foolish anti-god notions. Spending time with them will only get us in trouble. Maybe not thrown in jail, but can skew our thinking and cause mental and emotional trouble.

Wise or foolish. Which will you be?

Coffee, Bible, Journal.

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Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy.  Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!