Are You Walking with the Wise or Stumbling with Fools?

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20 NKJV

There are many reasons why it’s important to surround yourself with people who are where you desire to be. But one good reason is that you become like them.

If moving with wise people will make you wise, then in your current state, does that mean you’re a fool? Not necessarily. It just means you don’t make as many wise decisions as you should, so move with those who do.

Being intentional about your circle doesn’t make you a bad person. I constantly gauge the mindset of people around me to be sure we’re on similar wavelengths. Whenever I realise this isn’t the case, my simple approach is to reduce interaction. 

I don’t tell them I no longer want to be friends because I believe people have more to give outside of what I see. It’s never really about having matching bank account balances—that’s myopic.

But when we become intentional about the energy around us and what flows to us, we can filter relationships and limit conversations with certain people, even if they’re from our church.

How can we walk with the wise so we work as the wise?

This has both a horizontal and vertical approach. The horizontal approach is to partner with people who have a track record of making wise decisions. I’ve experienced firsthand how foolish decisions can crash a company.

When you compound actions taken without the proper knowledge, they add up and come tumbling down later. This is why getting knowledge we don’t have or building a partnership with someone with that knowledge helps fill the gap. This applies in business, passion projects, and even marriage.

The vertical approach is to build a team of people who have proven to have the wisdom you lack. In Exodus 31:3, God filled Bezaleel with wisdom that Moses did not have.

If Moses’s goal was to be smarter than everyone on his team, the temple would never have been built. He would also have an ego that God would need to eliminate because the work God would have him do wouldn’t see the light of day.

God fully knows that what He has called us to do can’t be accomplished with our limited resources. We need people both horizontally and vertically. The goal is to pray for light to come into our hearts so we see what He wants us to see and receive wisdom that manifests God’s kingdom in our lives.

“I walk with the wise and grow in wisdom.”

Being surrounded by the right people and cast in your old ways is possible. Do you want to become all God wants you to be? If that’s the case, wisdom is the daily bread you need.