“One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs 12:26

The people around you have a profound effect on you. All my life, I have heard clichés of truth such as: “Garbage in leads to garbage out.” “What comes out of your mouth is evidence of what is in your heart.” I think the people who shared those pearls of wisdom helped me as I pursued a Christ-centered life.

There is an excellent object lesson about the company you keep in the science of a rotten potato. Have you ever started peeling potatoes and find a little bad spot in the first one and just cut it out and keep on going? Then you peel a few good ones, and then you find that half of the next potato is spoiled and you have to cut the whole thing in two and throw half away. Then it just keeps getting worse as you get to the bottom of the bag and there it is THE ROTTEN POTATO. It made the whole bag smell terrible and the house stink, not to mention it contributed to the spoil of several other potatoes.

It’s a lot like that in life. At our house, we relate to the rotten potato theory, but we typically call it “sitting on the fence.” We are “sitting on the fence” with what we listen to, with whom we spend time, and how we spend our money. I ask my kids all the time which side of the fence they are dangling their legs. When we spend time in the world, it is so easy to start dangling our legs on the wrong side of the fence. Like the rotten potato, if you aren’t careful, the world will rub off on you.

I want to encourage you to find your center: find a church home, read your Bible, listen to Christian music, enjoy fellowship with friends, …be aware of the times you are dangling your legs on the world’s side of the fence. Develop your “conscious buzzer” and stay away from the “rotten” the world wants to put on you.

I urge you to make a point to not only surround yourself with good company but BE good company! Let’s not just sit on God’s side of that fence but paint it white and invite friends to join us.  After all, nobody wants to be a rotten potato.

Wendy Griffin
Lean into Jesus Ministries

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