GO FROM THE PRESENCE – Proverbs 14:7
Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
The reputation of those whom you associate with do have an affect upon your reputation. If the world looks at you and sees you hanging around fools, why should they perceive you any differently? You thus must be very careful who you associate with and why you associate with them.
The night before Jesus was crucified, Peter was confronted three times as being one of the disciples of Jesus. Peter lied to try to disassociate himself from the Son of God. Too often, we are just like Peter. We desire to be liked by the those of the world so we are cautious in how we approach the things of God so that we do not offend others. We are more willing to draw away from God and offend HIM then we are to abstain from the presence of foolish men.
Samuel was a prophet of God. One day Saul disobeyed God and did not utterly destroy the Amalekites. Instead, Saul saved the best of the flocks and the king. Because of the disobedience of Saul, Samuel told Saul that God had rejected him and that he would not return to Saul again. Because Saul had rejected God, Samuel was leaving the presence of Saul. Saul was no longer going to receive the benefits of associating with Samuel.
Be careful whom you associate with. Granted, you do not always have a choice about everyone whom you associate with. If you have a family member who is a fool, it is not like you can abandon them. At work, you probably are not in a position of picking who your co-workers are. Nonetheless, Even though you may have people whose lips utter perverse and foolish things that you cannot completely abandon, you must make sure that your life brightly reflects the light of God so that everyone around you knows that you are different.
The light of your life needs to shine brightly for God. If the world looks at you and associates you as just another one of the boys, what testimony does your life have for God? God desires that you draw closer to HIM and allow HIS glory to reflect from your life so that the world sees HIM through your life.
When the people saw Peter, they knew that he was different. They could tell that he had been with Jesus. Rather than denying that we are close to God, we should embrace God and be quick to acknowledge the importance of God in our lives. Do not allow the foolish men of this world to diminish your testimony.
The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the easier it will be for you to disassociate with the foolish men of the world. The more knowledge you have of the ways of God, the more you will speak of the things of God. The world is foolish and says that there is no God. If you are constantly talking bout God, then they will stay away from you.
Your testimony for God is too important. Do not allow the world to tarnish that reputation because you are too concerned about what others might think of you. Be bold for Christ and watch how HE increases you as you avoid the influences of this world.