Proverbs 1:14: Ah! The Commies are coming!

“throw in your lot among us [sinners]; we will all have one purse”
-Proverbs 1:14

For the last few verses, we’ve been hearing from a group of sinners trying to tempt us into evil ways. This is their last temptation in their speech, and we may think it is a little strange. They want us to come hang out.

A lot of the commentaries I read were written in the last fifty years, and so they latch onto the phrase about sharing one purse. “Communism!” they cry. “That’s the terrible temptation in this verse. The sinners want to be communists!”

That’s not the temptation here. In fact, Christians are supposed to share things amongst themselves. The temptation is for community.

When I was younger and not a Christian, I was rather lonely, and I started hanging out with a group of coworkers. This was not a good crowd, I’ll admit. They were constantly drinking, doing drugs, and sleeping together. I never joined in for those activities. Even though I was not a Christian, I guess I knew better even then. If drugs appeared or if people started pairing off, I would simply leave. But even if I didn’t join in on the activities, I found myself influenced by their attitudes and emotions. It was a train wreck of a time, and I grew more and more depressed and selfish. Had I stayed with them too much longer, I probably would have started in on the drugs and sex. Thankfully, other circumstances (and God’s providence) tore me away from them before that.

There was very little really wrong in my life at the time, and yet I was depressed. Several years later, when my life really was a wreck, between a divorce, poor health, and a dead-end job, spiritually and emotionally I wasn’t doing that bad. Why? Because I first had Jesus, and second a group of friends who loved me and loved the Lord. They took care of me and encouraged me.

We were made for community. The first thing in Creation that is said to be “not good” is that Adam had no companion. In fact, this is the only thing that was “not good” before the Fall. Everything else was good. In countless passages in both Testaments we are encouraged to hold fast to one another and take care of each other. I will quote my favorite of these: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

And yet community is something that Christians can be very bad at. Let’s face it, few of us hang out with the people from church. We normally hang out with people from work of school who don’t necessarily want to talk about Jesus or live morally. So we just shrug off their behavior. But then it starts to show up in us as well.

It is not good for us to be alone. It isn’t. But it is also not good to be constantly in the wrong crowd. We should hang out with the lost, yes, to teach them of Christ. But for support, guidance, and advice, we should be with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

I’m guilty of this as well. In recent days, someone I love very much left me, and I found myself talking to the people at work. I just don’t have many Christian friends, and they were there. It was nice to talk about it, but their advice was rather worldly. They didn’t understand my priorities.

So after that, I intentionally sought of Christians. Their words were focused on Christ, which was exactly what I needed.

And best of all, I prayed. Contrary to what many people believe, Jesus understands exactly what we are going through. He is not some distant deity that doesn’t know what it’s really like down here on earth, because He was here. He went through it all. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

And furthermore, He is a friend (John 15:15). He will hear us, and He understands. And through His Spirit He will guide us.

And He loves us. He loves us so much that He died for us, so that we could live.

There is no better companion than Christ, no greater comfort. In repenting of our sinful ways, we can come to Him, be cleansed and be filled with Him.

So the next time sinners come with the temptation of companionship, you will not need to get into a destructive relationship just because you are lonely. But you will be able to introduce them to the One who rescued you from that life.