‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Conscience is to man what a rudder is to a ship. It serves as man’s moral compass. Without it, man will end up in destruction. The conscience is that inner faculty that tells wrong from right. If it is not seared, it is capable of guiding the believer to a safe haven. People only run into trouble with God when they neglect the conscience. But there is another thing from Paul’s other writing that can equally have adverse effect on our Christian faith; and this has to do with wrong association.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that evil company corrupts good habits. A man is probably not better than the caliber of close association that he keeps. Those who want to please the Lord must be circumspect about people they allow into their lives.

A man is probably not better than the caliber of close association that he keeps. Those who want to please the Lord must be circumspect about people they allow into their lives.

It is not only true that evil association corrupts good morals, but it can also ruin a business venture. The story is told of Jehoshaphat, one of Judah’s righteous kings, who went into alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel reputed for his wickedness. They built a ship to go to Tarshish in search of gold. That was a good business proposal. Tarshish was also the right place to go for gold. But the whole thing ended up a disaster. 2 Chronicles 20:37 concludes, “Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.” Was God against the business plan? Not at all; but He was against the alliance of right with wrong. It is high time you considered who you are doing business with and what effect they are having on you.