Bad Company

Did you ever notice that what you are experiencing in your life significantly impacts the way a particular verse hits you? Of course you can't take something and make it say something that doesn't align with the whole of Scripture, i.e. thinking you can head to your charcoal grill and take out the hot bricks and put them on someone's head, but sometimes God will use the words on the page to say something very specifically to you. It's why his word is alive, able to do so much more than we give it credit for, and will always accomplish the purpose for which he sent it.

As I have been working through some issues, reading book after book trying to find the root of some of my deepest struggles, I read a verse today in 1 Corinthians that just leapt off the page and basically flicked my forehead and screamed, "Hello, McFly! Pay attention here!"

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Now, in the past I have had to beg my husband to be my system of checks and balances when it comes to the company I keep. Not that I've ever run with the wrong crowd or a rough crowd, but I've learned enough to know from the days when I worked outside the home that if you hang around with negative people, you can very easily become a negative person. It's not that you can't be in the same room with people that are never happy, you just have to cover yourself in prayer a little more.

Anyway, because I am reading a lot about my relationship (as unhealthy as it is) with food, I thought about the bad company I've been keeping. No, I don't mean cookies, chips, or excessively large salads, I mean the emotions that seem to be my BFF's.....fear, anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, and distrust that significantly impact my unhealthy relationship with food. 

The vicious cycle that never seems to stop goes like this: Worry.....food.....frustration over weight......anger......more food. I wouldn't have even noticed this if I hadn't read a chapter on emotions and how we use 'stress' as our blanket for every emotion we feel instead of labeling it correctly and deciding what would be most beneficial rather than numbing. That information was truly enlightening, espeically when she mentioned that she used food to stop her tears. #MindBlown But hours past that thought, reading this verse, opened my eyes to the company I tend to keep more than joy, peace, patience, and kindness. And that company is not only corrupting my character, it's dismantling my closet.

All too often, I have fallen prey to the schemes of the enemy. We wouldn't think taking the high road is a bad thing, but when the high road leads to denial of what's going on deep inside of us that ultimately leads to unhealthy habits, all in the name of keeping the bonds of peace and unity, that's not healthy.....physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.

I don't know what kind of company you are keeping these days, but if any of this sounds even just a little bit familiar, I pray that you will take a step back and figure out who your closest allies currently are. Because if you're hanging out with the wrong crowd, they're going to drag you down faster than the icky mess holding your feet in the muddy pit. Thankfully we have a God that will hear our cry, see us there, pick us up, and set our feet on a rock when we ask for help.