Daily Proverb - Proverbs, Chapter 25

"Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith; remove the wicked from the kings presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness."    "Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked."

If you look at 1 Corinthians 15:33, it says "Bad company corrupts good character."  I get the idea that these three verses from Proverbs 25 are telling us that.  The idea of removing dross from silver, is to clean it and it will be useful to the silversmith! Remove the wicked from the kings presence, now the influence of wickedness is gone, and now the king can focus on righteousness. 

We might think of God as the silversmith.  When we are willing to part from corrupt company, and seek to know His will for our daily lives, we have, in effect, removed the dross and now God can work with us!  If we are going to insist on rolling in the corruption of this sinful world, how can we be used as vessels for the glory of God?  And do you want to be corrupted by people who do not want to please the Lord, I hope not!  Are you willing to trade your position in the Lord, for a position that leads to destruction?  We are growing as His Spiritual children, washed from our sins.  The attitude of gratefulness should be evident in the company we keep.  Just simply accept the fact that the people who are part of your life, do make a difference in your thinking and behavior.  Does this mean that we should snub the world and not be friendly? oh no, not at all.  To the contrary, while God is busy changing us, He has a purpose, to make us more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to die for sinners, surely He would not want us to snub anyone!  Jesus did not allow Himself to become like the sinful people He died for.  Jesus  wants us to witness to this lost world of sinners.  Jesus even told us to love our enemies and neighbors.  The bottom line is this, don't let yourself become entangled in the ways of sinful man!  Be strong, so you will stand against the temptations that will come your way.  And God will be pleased with you and glorified because you are material that He can work with!

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man how lacks self-control"