Saturday, July 26, 2014 [Who Are You With?]
Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. (Proverbs 13:20, NLT)
Chronicles 17-18
Somehow or another, I've often found myself in the presence of shady characters. During the summer of 1996, while living in Atlanta, I found myself hanging out one afternoon with one of my "housemates." We were both renting rooms at a rooming house in West End Atlanta. I only had one thing on my agenda that summer - pass college calculus-2. But, on this particular afternoon, my housemate (we'll call him Stanley) was having a bad day and I was trying to cheer him up. I went with him to run a few errands. To make a long story short, I was "kidnapped" for the next hour and a half while Stanley purchased a few nickel bags of weed from his local supplier, who rode a dirt bike; purchased some gas for his car and some wine for his worries, which he drank while driving, of course; and, went to his highly confrontational ex-girlfriend's house to try and make up with her. That one decision to try and help Stanley ended up being one of the most frightening and frustrating excursions that I had ever experienced. On several occasions I begged God in prayer, "Lord, please get me out of this man's car with my life and without a criminal record."
Jehoshaphat had a similar experience with Ahab. Though allied with Ahab by marriage, these two kings did not share the same agenda. Jehoshaphat had a heart to do the right thing for his kingdom and follow the ways of the Lord, but Ahab did not. His main concern was Ramoth-Gilead, a city that was on an important trade route (like I-95) and was then under the control of the Arameans. Ahab's focus was on money. The two end up in a battle with the Arameans that the Lord had not sanctioned. At one point, facing death squarely in the face, Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord and was delivered from Aramean soldiers who had him in hot pursuit (2 Chronicles 18:31). However, Ahab suffered a different fate. He died in the battle.
Jehoshaphat was walking with the Lord, but he got sidetracked while "walking" with Ahab. His association with Ahab nearly cost him his life, while his walk of faith with Yahweh saved it. It doesn't take very much for us to find ourselves off track and on someone else's agenda. If I could take back that hour and a half with Stanley, I would've gotten out of the car the moment I realized he was on a mission to lose himself in drugs and alcohol. Just being in the presence of someone who is making dangerous choices can put one in danger: physical, emotional, spiritual…(the list goes on). This leaves us with three important reflection questions.
Who are you with?
Who are you following?
To whom are you committing your time?
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
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