So who are you hanging with? Are they helping you to become more like Christ? Or, do they have the tendency to pull you down and hold you back?
Living in the high desert of Nevada has given few of us the opportunity to harvest and eat Blue Crab from the ocean. But for those who live on the eastern seaboard of our country, the opportunities abound. And here is an interesting fact about Blue Crab. I’m told that when you catch the crabs, you toss them into a bucket or a basket. If you have only one crab, you will need to put a lid on the bucket or basket to keep the crab from escaping. But if you have two or more crab in the bucket, you don’t need to put a lid on the bucket. Now why is that so? Because when there are several crabs, they will drag each other down so that none of them can get away.
In some ways this is the paradox of the Christian life. If we surround ourselves with negative people, shallow people, people who have no interest in spiritual growth, far from us pulling them up, they will always pull us down. They will do whatever it takes to keep us from making progress in our walk with Christ. They will use whatever means possible to keep you in the basket. You can choose to allow them to hold you back. Or, you choose to stay out of the basket by refusing to be a crab and hang around crabs.
Why not choose to surround yourselves with people who will be a positive source of encouragement to you as you focus your life on Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him? You see, it really does matter who you hang with!
