The Company We Keep
The Wisdom Found in Relationships and Older Generations
One of the blessings of growing older is that you begin to see how much influence people have on one another.
Spend enough time around someone who complains, and before long, you may find yourself complaining too. Spend time with someone who is generous, and generosity begins to feel natural. Spend time with someone who sees God's hand in everyday blessings, and you may find yourself noticing those blessings more often as well.
Influence has a way of rubbing off on us.
Jesus understood this when He said:
"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher." — Luke 6:40
The principle is simple.
We become like the people we follow.
That does not mean we should isolate ourselves from anyone who thinks differently. Jesus certainly didn't do that. He spent time with people from every walk of life. He showed kindness to everyone. He spoke with fishermen, tax collectors, religious leaders, sinners, and outcasts.
Yet there was something important about those relationships.
Jesus influenced them far more than they influenced Him.
That takes spiritual maturity.
Most of us are not as strong as we imagine. We tend to absorb the attitudes, habits, priorities, and perspectives of the people closest to us. That is why the company we keep matters.
Healthy friendships often encourage us toward better things. Good friends inspire us to be more patient, more generous, more faithful, and more thoughtful. They celebrate our successes without jealousy and gently help us find our footing when we begin drifting off course.
Not every relationship works that way.
Some friendships revolve around gossip, conflict, or constant negativity. Others leave us feeling anxious, discouraged, or dissatisfied every time we spend time together. Christian maturity involves learning the difference.
It is not about loving some people and rejecting others.
It is about recognizing who is helping us grow closer to Christ and who may be quietly pulling us away from Him.
One of the saddest changes I have observed over the years is the growing distance between generations. Previous generations often lived closer together. Grandparents, parents, and children shared meals, stories, traditions, and wisdom simply because they spent time together.
Today, many people have hundreds of online connections but very few meaningful relationships with those who have already walked the road ahead of them.
I remember two of my great-grandfathers who lived into their nineties. They both loved telling stories about their childhoods and the world they grew up in. As a child, I would sit and listen for a while—usually longer than my brothers and sisters did. Eventually, though, I would find a reason to slip away and return to whatever seemed important at the time.
Looking back, I wish I had stayed a little longer.
At the time, their stories felt endless. Today, they feel priceless.
I would love to sit across the table from them one more time and hear those stories again. I would ask different questions. I would pay closer attention. I would listen less impatiently and more intentionally.
But some opportunities only come once.
That realization has taught me something about the value of older people. The stories they carry are more than memories. They are lessons, warnings, victories, mistakes, and wisdom gathered over a lifetime. When we take the time to listen, we receive gifts that cannot be purchased and cannot be replaced.
Once they are gone, those stories often disappear with them.
I sometimes notice elderly people sitting together in restaurants, enjoying a hot meal and conversation. Some arrive with walkers. Others come in wheelchairs. Many seem grateful simply to have somewhere to go and someone to talk to. I cannot help but wonder how many stories sit around those tables waiting for someone to ask a question and listen.
Following Jesus invites us to notice people the world often overlooks.
He made time for children, the poor, the sick, and the elderly. He saw value where others saw inconvenience. He listened when others hurried past.
Perhaps Christian maturity includes learning to do the same.
Some of the richest friendships are found not among people exactly like ourselves, but among people whose experiences can teach us something we do not yet know. Wisdom often arrives with gray hair. Not always, but often.
As we grow in the footsteps of Jesus, we learn to choose companions wisely. We seek friendships that encourage truth, kindness, faithfulness, and growth. We also become the kind of friend who offers those same gifts to others.
The company we keep shapes us.
The company we become shapes others.
Both matter.
And perhaps one of the greatest blessings we can give—and receive—is the influence of a life that has spent many years walking with God.
Footsteps in Practice
Listen to a Story
This week, spend time with someone from a different generation than your own.
Call a parent or grandparent.
Visit an elderly neighbor.
Ask someone how they met their spouse, what life was like when they were young, or what lessons they learned through difficult seasons.
Then do something that has become increasingly rare:
Listen.
Not just long enough to be polite.
Long enough to learn.
You may walk away with a treasure you will value for the rest of your life.
A Thought to Carry This Week
The people we spend time with help shape the people we become.
Choose companions who encourage you to walk more closely with Jesus—and don't overlook the wisdom of those who have been walking the road much longer than you have.
