There’s an old saying that absolutely true: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” In other words, if you hang around the wrong people, you’ll end up being just like them.
There’s another old saying: “One rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel.” The putrefying influence of that one rotten apple is passed from apple to apple, until all the apples are just like that first rotten apple.
But it can happen the other way, too, you know. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He that walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Now that’s exactly why God warns us not to get mixed up with people who are more interested in themselves than they are in God.
In 2 Timothy 3:5, God says of the last days’ culture, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” Now in this passage, the last days’ culture is characterized by lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. In other words, people will be totally self-absorbed. They will give lip service to loving God – that is, they will be religious – but their real passion will be centered upon themselves, their possessions, and their pleasures. Living a godly life to the glory of Christ will not be the desire of their hearts.
The word “turn away” is a strong word that means “to avoid.” It is a compound word, where the verb “to turn” is attached to the preposition “from” or “away from.”
So the idea behind this word, is to do a 180° from the people who are like that – have nothing to do with them. Avoid them. Give yourself, rather, to God. As you turn away from them, turn toward Him. That’s how God wants you to live in the last days.
Hey – The crowd may laugh at you when you turn away, but the angels of heave will applaud.