The greatest thing you can do for your future is to avoid bad people today.
People are indispensable to achieving your dreams on earth. The people in your life affect the outcome of your life. At any point in your life, there will be positive and negative people scrambling to be with you. It is your responsibility to avoid bad people. There are four cases of study I want to bring to your attention about how bad people in our lives can influence the way our destiny turns out. I took all my examples from the Bible because it is replete with so many of such relationships.
People Who Cause Your Fall (Adam & Eve): Adam had one of the greatest mandates to dominate the earth. He lost this mandate due to the first person in his life – Eve. Eve was deceived by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit and Adam willfully participated in it. If the devil cannot get you directly, he uses the people around you. This small act caused the fall of humanity. There are people in our lives who may cause us to commit sin with rippling effects on future generations. For instance, one decision made by our forefathers sent a whole generation of Africans into slavery. Had they known this was going to lead Africa into impoverishment, they wouldn’t have engaged in it. You can avoid such people by discerning their acts and not entertaining their sin. Reference: Genesis 3:1-7.
People Who Pretend Love (Samson & Delilah): Samson was cut short in his ministry as a freedom fighter by Delilah leaking secrets to his enemies. Destined to free his people from the hands of their slave masters, Samson ended up being enslaved by them. In this case, Samson failed to decipher between love and pretence. His weakness caused his downfall. Anyone in your life has a motive for being with you. They are either for good or bad. Dr. Mike Murdock says that, “The purpose of wisdom is to disconnect you from wrong people.” Samson had an anointing but failed to use wisdom. Pray for wisdom to deal with such people. The Bible says in James 1:5 that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Wisdom makes a difference. Reference: Judges 16:4-21.
People With Advice (Amnon & Jonadab): This is a case of seeking for advice from the wrong people. Amnon, son of King David, listened and acted on his friend Jonadab’s advice and raped his sister Tamar and consequently caused conflict in his father’s kingdom. When the feeling of sexual attraction towards his sister surfaced, he had the choice to seek godly or ungodly advice. He chose ungodly advice. Who do you seek advice from on critical issues of life? The Bible admonishes us to seek advisers with care because bad company corrupts good character. The people in your life are pointers to what you conform to. The quality of advice you hear determines the quality of decision you make. There are so many Jonadabs in our Universities, workplaces, and communities. I witnessed so many innocent first year students turn into lady-hunters by third year by courtesy wrong orientation from bad continuing students. Changing your advisors will help change your decisions and actions! Reference: 2 Samuel 13:1-14.
People Without Wisdom (Rehoboam & Friends): Rehoboam’s kingship was cut short due to seeking wisdom from inexperienced people. He was relatively young when he succeeded his father Solomon as king of Israel. His single decision to seek wrong advice from people he grew up with resulted in the division of the kingdom and loss of the kingship lineage into the hands of his servant. You have a choice to stick to your equals you grew up with or seek wisdom from experienced people. It’s true that if you follow the advice of successful people, you will think, act and get the same results they got and sometimes more. Nuggets of wisdom abound in reading, listening, and watching relevant knowledge-based products for effective living. Reference: 2 Chronicles 10.
If you don’t like where you are heading to, check the people in your life. Bad people may be friends, colleagues in the office, or even relatives. Know that they are everywhere. Bad people are liabilities. They feed your weakness and cause you to fail. Watch out for these characters: sin lovers, pretenders, and wrong advisers. The greatest thing you can do for your future is to avoid bad people today.
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