Hey there mes Amis,

Happy Sunday to you all. I hope your Sunday was as wonderful as mine was? Well, true to the word of God there is fullness of joy in the presence of God. Not just joy but full joy. Many things can over you Joy but when you get to the presence of God, he will give you the full joy that has no sadness or any worry.

To the topic of the day. One of the characteristics of all living things is the ability to interact with it environment, reacting to it at different times with different actions. We humans are not exempted from This either. And the truth is the level of our development, progress, success and achievement is solidly depended on these interactions and these interactions are a function of the association you make or find ourselves in. You can become successful or impoverish by the associations you make. There is even a saying that if you want to change your current status, do two things;

1. Change your mindset

2. Change your circle.

The topic we would be discussing today is on the circle you form or should I say the association you find yourself in. And true to my behaviour as @Vernardo as said 😂 let's go to the Bible 🚀

PROVERBS 13:20

He that walked with with the wise Shall be wise, but the gathering if fools shall be destroyed.

This verse alone is enough to tell us all we need to know about the power of association. But I'll expasiate a bit on it before we dive into the principles guiding Association.

A blunt truth

While we were returning home from a friend's house with one of my neighborhood sisters, she asked me a question concerning one pastor's son in our neighborhood that used to be a very good boy but as turned into something else. He now smokes, fornicate around, dress so inappropriately and so on. The question the girl asked me was;

Was he the one that influence his friend (this boy also leaves opposite my house and from the looks of things, he was bound to be wayward from the beginning due to the kind of family that raised him) or was it his friend that influenced him?

I answer her and said; well, we cannot say for certain who influenced who. But I can say this with all confidence that a lion though trained to be a goat still remains a lion, and the day it tastes blood then will it start behaving as such. I closed the discussion by saying; it has always been in him, he only feel into the right environment (association) that brought out the characters.

What I'm trying to say here is although a man will walk with the wise and he will become wise by the virtue of his constant interaction and fellowshipping with the wise, Nevertheless it must be noted that he must first be wise! I guess what I'm saying in essence is you can't give what you don't have neither can you become what you are not!

So, the wise and the fool didn't mistakenly find themselves in the mist of their gatherings rather they only fill in their space that was vacate from the beginning. Yeah, some people can be lured to do bad things but if it's not really in them, they will regret their actions, repent of their ways and find their ways back to sanity. So, look at your lifestyle and your dealings, they are made by your association linked with what was already in you. Your life is a reflection of your association which is a reflection of what's inside of you. Hence, your life is a reflection of what you truly are! Have you not heard what Jesus said in the Bible?

LUKE 6:45

A good man out of the good treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Also,

Luke 6:43

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

So, don't blame anybody or association for your misdeed. It has been you all along. This is the reason Jesus told us to purge ourselves from every unclean works.

Principles of Association

Now that we have establish the above fact, let's move onto the principles guiding Association for indeed there principles guiding it. The understanding or lack of the understanding of this principles can either put you at an advantage or disadvantage.

1. Association is responsible for the rising and falling of people.

2. Never ever belittle anyone; so many people have made this dangerous mistake and till today they are still paying for it leaving their Destiny unfulfilled, their homes in wretchedness and a dead vision or mission. The truth is we all move together, talk together, laugh together and shake hands with each other but we don't know who is who. That person you think is irrelevant to you or your goal may turn out to be the key to achieving your dreams. If potiphar and his wife had known who Joseph was, they won't have jailed him. If Albert Einstein's teacher had know what he would become, she sure won't have called him 'a waste of effort and a dead Brain'. If the Jews had known who Jesus really is, they won't have killed him. Infact they would have worshipped him to he earth and erect a golden statute in honor of him. If we had know that Bitcoin would be this valuable today, we would have packed as many as we can get 😂😂 But, small things add up to big things. I'm not saying you should go about forming bound with every single jack and Tom, what I'm saying is make sure you have a clear and good relationship with everyone. Never ever look down on anyone. Never!!!

3. Be invaluable to everyone; it's good to have clean records in terms of relationship with everyone. But much more important don't be a burden or a useless person to people around you. I and @Aimure were discussing sometimes ago and he made a statement that I will never forget although he said it amid jokes. He said; people don't follow me or what to be with me because they necessarily like me, rather they are with me because they need me'. Wonderful words right? That's been useful and reliable. In the days of Jesus, most people hated him including those that come to sit at his feet, yet they are compelled to come to him because he has something to offer them. What you offer in a relationship will define the duration of the relationship and the benefit you will get from it. You might have been contributing meaningfully to your association and it seems they don't value it or don't really reciprocate it, don't worry, all it takes is Time. Remember when Joseph was in the prison. He had help the king's cup carrier to decipher is dreams yet immediately the man got out, he totally forget Joseph. It took some years for him to remember Joseph but when he does, that marked the end to the sufferings of Joseph and begin of greatness. So, never be idle in any association you find yourself, get something useful doing if possible, do the extraordinary one because sooner or later you will reap the benefits.

4. Learn to discern the times and season for a relationship; I'm goin to have to stop here for now. But let me talk a bit on this then we will continue in next time. Do you remember the Preacher? Well he said something in Eccl. 3:5-7

Ecclesiastes 3:5-6,8

[5]A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

[6]A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

[8]A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

There is time and seasons for everything under heaven. Don't get to comfortable with any association no matter how sweet or beneficial it is too you. Learn to discern the times and season of that relationship. There is much to say on this but I can right now so I don't create a boring write up. We shall continue form here next time by God's grace.

Thanks a bunch dear friend and beloved for taking your time to read this article. Anticipate the concluding part.❤️