Proverbs 22:24-25
Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, lest you learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.
You heard it here first: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” It’s not just the good morals Scripture is concerned about though… it’s your soul’s status before God. The people you choose to hang out with today will directly affect your relationship with God tomorrow. Are your best friends modeling Christ to you? Do they encourage you to be slow to anger and quick to listen?
Do not underestimate the importance of this question. Proverbs tells us that when we hang out with angry or hot-tempered friends, we learn their ways and find ourselves caught in a snare. This snare is the sin of worshiping yourself and your own desires more than God. The Old Testament writers referred to it as idolatry. Anger is a form of idolatry in that it places your feelings and reasoning in a more important position than God’s commandments. When you hang out with angry people, their idolatry will inevitably rub off on you.
Are you caught in the snare of idolatry today? Does it come from a bitter spirit, long washed in anger? I pray that you would heed the words of Scripture. Evaluate the character of your friends. Are they godly examples of Jesus’ compassion or do they wear their emotions on their sleeves? If you are struggling with anger, there is a strong possibility that you need to spend less time with certain people in your life. Psalm 1 portrays the character that you and I must long to obtain. In doing so, we will stay clear from this snare of anger and idolatry.