Corrupted minds corrupt other minds …

All of us, at multiple times in our lives, have said something like:

“You make me happy ..”

“You make me sad …”

“You make me frustrated …”

“You make me angry …”

“You make me …”

The problem with those comments is, in the truest sense, they aren’t true.

No one can climb into your mind and force you to think anything.

HOWEVER, we all know that other people certainly can — and do — influence our thinking. And that reality sometimes causes problems for us.

That’s because corrupted minds can influence the corruption of other minds.

George Washington once wrote, “Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your reputation. For it’s better to be alone than in bad company.”

William Gladstone said, “Choose wisely your companions, for a young man’s companions, more than his food or clothes, his home or his parents, make him what he is.”

And even the Apostle Paul joined in warning about being in “bad company”: “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for ‘bad company corrupts good character,'” 1 Corinthians 15:33.

Pastor Matthew Parker tells a story of how is daughter was challenged with what to do about companions trying to negatively influence her:

“My daughter Elia has given me permission to tell this story. Elia faced a huge dilemma in high school when her best friends from junior high days started hanging out with a rough crowd, starting smoking and crossing all sorts of boundaries. In order to keep the friendships she would have to start participating in those behaviors. That was very clear. She decided instead to challenge her friends and call them to a better way. Most of them ignored her, so she separated herself from them. And she’s glad she did, as they’ve continued down the road they started. Now she still cares for them, but she made the choice to not join them in destructive activities.”

Allowing a corrupted mind to corrupt yours can be more than serious, it can be destructive. The greatest example of that comes from the Bible, and from the beginning of life on this planet. First, Satan corrupted his own mind by thinking he was worthy of worship and wanted to make himself like God. When that failed, he set out to corrupt every human mind he could, starting with Eve:

“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’ ‘Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, “You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die,”‘ ‘You won’t die!’ the serpent replied to the woman. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.’ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too,” Genesis 3:1-6.

Eve allowed herself to believe a deception and untethered her desires from God’s truth. Having corrupted her thinking, she shared the corruption, “… she gave some to her husband, who was with her …” Adam responded to the influence by thinking going along with Eve was better than going along with God.

And the rest is (tragic) history.

Not only should we be cautious about the minds of those whose company we keep, but also how we may influence theirs.

Scotty