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Wise followers of Jesus carefully choose their friends. Psalm 101 teaches us who to hang out with and who to avoid.
Avoid those who have walked away from Jesus. . .
I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me (v. 3b, ESV).
Those who have known Jesus and then walked away have a cloud of despair and doubt emanating from their spirit. King David warns us to stay away from them — don’t let their rebellion cling to us. Our fellowship should lift and not diminish our worship of the living God.
Avoid those who are perverse. . .
I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil (v. 4, NLT).
With deception as a stronghold of our time, we should choose positive, generous, and faithful friends. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for ‘bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Avoid those who are arrogant. . .
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure (v. 5b, ESV).
A haughty person expresses no need for God, and this arrogance demeans the supernatural. Walking in the Spirit, in the presence of a great God, causes a humility of joy in serving others.
Avoid those who deceive. . .
I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence (v. 7, NLT).
Evil can only survive with lies (it’s not true), and lies that are obvious can be quickly discerned, so people employ deception to cover their true intentions and character. How many times have we wished that we would have known about a person before the disastrous consequences of their lies?
The lesson of Psalm 101 is to pick our friends wisely.
Avoid those who are fallen, perverse, arrogant, and deceptive. But how do we discern evil before it’s too late? Only by living righteously and resisting opposing lifestyles. In verses one through four, David makes six promises that gave him a godliness that defended him supernaturally from evildoers.
- I will sing of love and justice (v.1)
- I will ponder being blameless (v. 2)
- I will walk with integrity (v. 2)
- I will not look closely at what is vulgar (v. 3)
- I will hate the work of the unrighteous (v. 4)
- I will know nothing of evil (v. 4)
Let’s find and walk with those who love our Lord and Savior. Let’s commit to David’s six-fold defense against the lies of evil.
Amen. Peace out!