“Take away the dross from silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.”
Proverbs 25:4,5


There is a lot of truth in the statement, “You are only as strong as those among whom you surround yourself.” While we are capable of independent thinking and lonely stands (Daniel, the 3 Hebrews, etc.), the truth is that our environment is one of the most powerful determiners of our future actions. Language demonstrates this truth. A child will develop the ability to communicate in the dialect of the home without any formal education. No one, even one as powerful and capable as a king, is immune from the power of influence. While accepting this to be true is greatly humbling, it is also greatly rewarding. The king becomes a righteous king when righteous advisers provide righteous advice. One of God’s primary purposes in establishing the family and the church was to surround His people with an environment in which righteousness would be encouraged, modeled, and observed. While some of our environment is beyond our control, much of it is directly in our control. What are you surrounding and therefore, becoming like?