Saying 3

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.

Proverbs 22:24-25

People are interesting creatures in so many ways, and one of those interesting tendencies that we have is that we tend to mirror the behavior of the people we surround ourselves with. Here’s an example from my own misspent youth:

I was not a kid who used all that much dirty language. A teacher once said that I didn’t cuss much because I had a better than average vocabulary and could cut to the bone without foul language. I wasn’t so sure about that, but I never really took to using the f−word four or five times in every sentence.

When I was in college, and shortly after that, I found myself working in an environment populated by politicians; names you might recognize. I was surprised to discover that they seemed the most foul-mouthed people I had ever been around− in private. Later, I realized that this is a coping mechanism, for professional politics is probably the most high-stress occupation there is, and people need to blow off steam. After that, I came to realize that I was just as bad as everyone else, to my great surprise. After I left that environment, my speech cleared up effortlessly because I just wasn’t hearing it much anymore.

Our saying today gives wise advice on this general topic: Be careful not to surround yourself with the wrong people, unless you want to be one of them. It is simple, direct and practical. It is also worth our serious consideration.