My attention was drawn to some flower plants in our compound some days back. There were two of them, different species, planted beside each other but with the same flower. I kept examining the plants out of curiosity. I was so surprised because I kind of know that one of the plants was not bearing the flower it was expected to. The flower is original to one. The other plant was simply “infected” by the “domineering” plant.(Don’t even begin to ask me about the science behind this occurrence. Lol) I caught the lesson God was pointing out to me though. And it is simple: Your association definitely have consequences, positive or negative.
If a goat continually flocks with a dog, it will eat faeces (a Yoruba adage). The people you associate with can cross-pollinate you with whatever they carry on their inside. They either infect you with their evil or inject good into you. It’s one thing or another. We are like permeable membranes. Things pass through us and into us. Our relationship with people or things have certain ways of gradually affecting us.
If a wife beater is your best friend, you are at risk of becoming one too. If you are friends with a drunkard, soon you’ll be mixing some alcohol with your soft drink and probably become a pro at drinking alcoholic drinks without dilution. If your friends are being pimped, soon you will be a victim too if you don’t separate yourself from them. If your friends see nothing wrong with pre-marital sex or adultery, if care is not taken, you begin to get comfortable with what they are doing.
Your antennas must be very sensitive. Be at alert always. The devil wants you to fall at all cost, so, don’t give room to the devil by being in close relationships with people on the path of destruction. As humans, we have weaknesses. Other people’s weaknesses could lead to our own fall. Everyone is a potential tool to trigger your fall. Always remember that fact. I think preparing your mind with this help us not to let our guards down. We need to be watchful and vigilant AT ALL TIMES.
I once read/heard the story of a hunter who once brought home the egg of an eagle. He allowed a hen to hatch the egg along with her own eggs. The chicks and the eaglet grew together. The eagle will run with the chicks and it will hop with them. It had lost it’s essence. It never knew it had the ability to fly high. And not only that, to soar too. It wasn’t able to maximize its potential because of its association. In short, our environment has a way of influencing who we become or how we turn out in the long run. If you walk with crawlers, the tendencies are high that you will also become a crawler. If you move with flyers, you will most likely become a flyer too.
Your Association Leads Either To Your Dissociation or Appreciation!
Watch out!
~OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
2015
