“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20
One of the interesting trends these days is how many ordinary people are becoming celebrities simply by posting videos of themselves on social media and earning millions of dollars, depending on how many “likes” they get from followers. Sometimes they post humorous, harmless challenges like seeing how many sweaters or life vests one individual can don in a limited time. Many set new fashion trends by offering makeup tips or modeling clothing styled in unique ways, attracting sponsors who pay them to represent a certain brand. Others encourage pranks that can cost lives, as some young viewers have found by mixing and drinking dangerous concoctions made from ingredients commonly found in households. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Influencers abound, and some viewers count them as media “Friends,” but then we all are Influencers to some degree and need to assess the impressions we are making on others.
Reading through the Old Testament, I noticed several examples of how easily some can be misled by misplacing their faith in a leader or companion, but the greater misfortune is the leader’s failure to use his or her position responsibly. For example, I Kings 15:34 records, “In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha...became king of all Israel...He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.” The result was war between Asa and Baasha throughout their reigns. The pattern of betrayal and evil continued in the following kings’ reigns, some reigning as little as seven days as they continued to provoke the Lord’s anger.
Thankfully, there were examples of positive Influencers like Joshua, who challenged the people to choose whom they would serve and then boldly declared, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Esther encouraged Mordecai to gather all the Jews in Susa to fast along with her and her maids as she dared to go before the king without having been invited. She used her influence to gain the king’s favor towards her people. And then there is Naomi, whose positive influence on her daughters-in-law ultimately led Ruth to leave her pagan people and become the ancestor of the Messiah.
Most of us will probably never be on tv or otherwise be recognized for it, but our own sphere of influence begins at home and extends into a world constantly imitating what they see and hear, for good or ill, as they look and listen. Being selective about the companions with whom we spend time—whether tv personalities or real life acquaintances-- is one way to filter whose influence may be swaying us because I Cor.15:33 reminds us, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Proverbs 12:26 warns, “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” May we be counted among the wise, for “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan.12:3).