The Company We Keep

Introduction

Who is the company you keep?

The law of association says that ‘either you are becoming like them or they are becoming like you.’

Church, who are you becoming like today?

The kind of company we keep at the table (a place of intimacy) says a lot about us

Illustrate: Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of forthcoming book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do.” wrote in Forbes Magazine article “5 Scientific Reasons You Should Choose Your Friends Carefully” by Amy Morin

Strong-willed friends can help increase your self-control

If you struggle to resist temptation, surrounding yourself with people who possess a high degree of self-discipline can help

Having fewer friends increases the likelihood that you’ll take financial risks

When people lack adequate social interaction, they’re more likely to take bigger risks with money, according to a study published in the June 2013 issue of Journal of Consumer Research. Researchers discovered this was especially true for people who were feeling lonely or rejected.

Too many connections on social media may increase your stress level

When it comes to social media, “the more the merrier” may not be a good approach. A report from the University of Edinburgh Business School discovered that more Facebook friends means more stress. Stress arises as people try to present a version of themselves online that will be acceptable to all their social media contacts.

Close friends could be the secret to longevity

When older adults have close confidants, they’re ikely to live longer, according to a study conducted by Australia’s Flinder’s University. After following 1,500 people for 10 years, researchers discovered that people with a large network of friends outlived their counterparts by 22%. Other studies touting the health benefits of friendship have shown people with cancer live longer when they attend support groups. Close friendships can help ward off depression and boost immunity as well.

Friends can greatly influence your choices

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that friends often bond by providing one another with moral support to resist a temptation. However, friends also commonly conspire together to enjoy indulgences. Researchers discovered that when it came to resisting temptations – like eating chocolate – sometimes friends were more likely to become partners in crime as they decided to indulge together.

Friends can help bring out the best in you without expecting perfection. They can remind you not to take life too seriously, as well as give you that much needed boost when you’re feeling discouraged.

Reindel, Linnette. The Art of Keeping Good Company (p. 26). Good Company Publishing. Kindle Edition.

I often gave someone a place at my table that they didn’t earn or deserve. They took from my table and didn’t give anything back, sucking the life out of me, which resulted in my not getting what I needed or desired.

I decided to start with the table, because the table for me represents “identity”, your foundation, core beliefs and values, and how you choose to live them every day. Really, in essence, it’s your authentic self, who you are deep down when it’s just you, when no one else is watching. You might wonder, why is knowing yourself really so important, life affirming or life changing? I believe it’s because when you present your genuine self to the world, when you clearly communicate who you are and you live authentically, you will attract the people you want and need to your table.

Reindel, Linnette. The Art of Keeping Good Company (pp. 35-36). Good Company Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Remember upon closer inspection behind door number one, Grace noticed the people looked sad, depressed, and angry. They were not engaging or interacting with each other, and they were unable to feed themselves with the unusually long forks and spoons handcuffed to their wrists. By contrast, behind door number two, the people were engaged, happy, vibrant, flourishing and completely aware of the people to their left and right. Their ability to look in each direction would provide access to the abundance before them. While they realized it was impossible to get their own forks and spoons to their mouths, they recognized that by simply turning to their left and right and extending their utensils to those next to them, they could feed each other.

So why couldn’t table number one be more like table number two? The difference reflected who was in the chairs.

The people at table number two actively chose to engage each other and participate in the feast because they knew what they wanted and needed and what they could offer others. They were thoughtful and astute enough to know how to give to others and how to ask for help in getting what they needed. They weren’t motivated to push others aside and feed themselves at other people’s expense. They had a keen sense of reciprocity. Basically, they were willing to sit at the table and share. They lived by; “there is always plenty to go around.” What’s more, they chose to surround themselves with others who were equally self-aware and self-empowered.

2 Corinthians 6:14–16 ESV

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV

17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

But what about when Jesus keeps company with sinners?

Transition To Body: Complaints of Scribes & Pharisees

Luke 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Psalm 1:1–2 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Body: The Company Jesus Keeps Reflects His Heart

The Caring Persistence of Jesus (Luke 15:1-7)- Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:3–7 ESV

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Ezekiel 34:11–12 ESV

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Ezekiel 34:16 ESV

16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Isaiah 40:11 ESV

11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

The Faithful Diligence of Jesus (Luke 15:8-10)- Parable of the Lost Coin

Luke 15:8–10 ESV

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Loving Compassion of Jesus (Luke 15:11-32)- Parable of the Lost Son

Deuteronomy 21:18–21 ESV

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Isaiah 26:3–4 ESV

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Transition To Close:

Illustrate Apple AirTags

AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects (e.g. keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices, vehicles). To locate lost items, AirTags use Apple's crowdsourced Find My network, estimated in early 2021 to consist of approximately one billion devices worldwide that detect and anonymously report emitted Bluetooth signals.

Users can mark an AirTag as lost and provide a phone number and a message. Any iPhone user can see this phone number and message with the "identify lost item" feature within the Find My app which utilizes near-field communication (NFC) technology. Additionally, Android and Windows 10 Mobile phones with NFC can identify an AirTag with a tap, which will redirect to a website containing the message and phone number.

1 Peter 2:24–25 ESV

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Close: Lavish Love of God the Father (1 John 3)

John 10:11 ESV

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:16–18 ESV

16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

1 John 3:1–3 ESV

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.