Psalm 26:4-5 English Standard Version (ESV)

4 I do not sit with men of falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.

There was a crime show that indicated that prison only teaches criminals to get better at being criminals. That thought always stuck in my mind for two reasons. We can learn from other people’s mistakes and we think we will not get caught doing that.

If hanging out with career criminals will make you a better criminal, won’t the opposite also be true? If we hang out with career Christians won’t we be better Christians? Yes and no. Who is to say a career Christian is able to teach you how to be more Christ-like?

If we determine to be more like a man we are now worshipping man more than God. We have to hang out with God to be more Godly. The Holy Spirit is our instructor. Allow me to refer back to Psalm 26 and the opening statements.

Psalm 26:1 English Standard Version (ESV)

Of David.

1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

Isn’t this the same David that committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed? That sounds rather arrogant to say he had integrity after what he did. He was caught exposed, all his wives were taken from him and his son died for his iniquity. Where was the integrity in that?

2 Samuel 12:13 English Standard Version (ESV) David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

David believed the Lord and acted as if all those sins had never happened. We have a fresh start, beginning again, where actions dictate our new creature in Christ and not the past.

Do we allow our past to dictate our actions or do we believe the Lord has forgiven us our sins?