Jeremiah 23:10
O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Nobody is their own man, but they are a combination of all the influences in their life; therefore, every person must be careful of what influences they have, for those influences will influence them to do either right or wrong. We often hear people say that they are their own man, which may sound good, but nobody is their own person. God says that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. God is saying that you are not the one who dictates which way you go in life, but your influences dictate the direction you go in life, and that is why you must keep all of your influences right.
You cannot spend time with any person without them influencing you. You may try to be an influence on others, but if you spend time with them, they will influence you. I know of a person who wanted his son to be an influence on a troubled boy, so he let his son befriend this troubled boy and spend much time with him. Sadly, the troubled boy influenced the son to do wrong instead of the son influencing the troubled boy to do right. How did this happen? This happened because you are who you spend time with.
The influences of your life will come out. Solomon thought he could influence all the godless women in his life, and he did while he was young, but eventually they influenced him to do wrong. Naomi and her husband didn't think that going to Moab would bother them, but they eventually succumbed to the influence of the Moabites to the point that she lost her testimony. Abraham never thought that going down to Egypt would influence him for wrong, but it did, and the sad result is that it influenced Lot for wrong. Peter was influenced by standing at the heathen’s fire. David was influenced to carry the ark of the covenant in the wrong manner because he spent a short time of his life with the Philistines. It does not matter how strong you are; every weak influence in your life will affect you for the worse.
Now, I am not saying that you should not try to reach the lost, but what I am saying is that you better be careful about who you choose to spend time with, for your decision to spend time with someone is to choose to let them influence you. Yes, we must go to reach the lost, but we are not going to the lost to spend time with them, but to give them the Gospel.
Moreover, you are only as strong as your weakest influence. You show me those who influence you, and I will show you what you will become. Every influence, whether good or bad, whether great or small, is an influence on your life for good or bad. Here is the problem: you will not control how much they influence you because it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. The influences of your life dictate how and which direction your steps will take you.
Let me challenge you to always keep the right influences in your life. Keep the influences of the circle of friends right. Keep the influences of the books you read to be right. Keep the influences of the music you listen to right. Keep the influences of the people you follow right. Keep the influences of the Bible conferences you attend right. Every little influence will dictate the direction your life takes; therefore, keep every influence right and you will keep the direction of the steps of your life right.
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