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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Illustrate the meaning of "A Man is Known by the Company He Keeps" (without using the actual phrase). (01/31/08)
Uncle Albert in the movie Mary Poppins floats when he laughs. So, when Poppins gets word that Uncle Albert is “at it again” she, and the children she’s caring for, run over to Albert’s house to rescue him from this state of floating hilarity.

The problem is floating hilarity is apparently contagious and Poppins and the children are all soon side by side with floating Uncle Albert laughing hysterically.

That is kind of like what happens in church when everyone is trying not to laugh. You’ve been there, I’m sure. The harder you try not to laugh the harder it is not to laugh. The laughter just floats up out of your gut and suppressing it seems counterproductive.

When I was growing up, there were certain other teens that my mom would not let me sit next to in church because she knew that we would inevitably get in trouble for laughing.

The reward I got for sitting with those certain friends was that we always had fun. The cost was that we always got in trouble when we were together.

When you are together with certain people something happens. There are those people that promote laughter. There are other people who are always serious.

I laugh when I am around either. For some reason super serious people cause me to get that uncontrolled urge to just burst out with laughter at just the wrong moments.

Here is something that might get you laughing. I typed the phrase “the company you keep” into the search engine to give me some ideas for writing. Here is the first thing that came up: “Find ‘The Company You Keep’ at bargain prices.”

It did give me some ideas.

This search result surfaced the realization in me that there is a price and reward for the choices we make about who to spend time with.

Prices and the rewards are what influence decisions. A person decides what people they are going to hang out with because they have seen the reward for being around those people.

Keep in mind, that just because there is a reward for being with certain people it doesn’t mean the reward is lasting or that it’s what it’s perceived to be.

I have a friend who does a lot of marriage counseling. He told me his technique is to try and talk the couple out of getting married, by explaining all the downsides from potential personality conflicts to pet peeves.

My friend said if the couple is not convinced to discontinue with their marriage plans, he shifts gears and encourages the couple to always focus on the reward side of the relationship: To “keep no record of wrong (the Apostle Paul in Roman 12:9).”

One of the biggest potential costs or potential rewards for people spending time together with friends or in a marriage is that one person becomes like the other. If a person can handle the idea of becoming more like that other person, it may indicate that those people are compatible friends.

My family has another family we consider to be our best friends. I admire certain things about them. They are super encouraging. I love being encouraged by them but an even greater reward that I receive from being with them is that I am becoming more like them in that I am turning into a better encourager. It is a reward that I have seen in that particular friendship.

Who are you going to spend your time with? Will they be people a lot like you? Will they be people that you want to be a lot like? Will you become like them?

I don’t generally believe that it is wise to judge people or to over-think about who should be your friends. But in general there is a cost and a reward for who you choose to hang out with. I hope that you can find “The Company You Keep” at bargain prices.

Wait! There’s more. What about you? Are you a good fried? Are you the kind of friend that people will be glad they chose? Are you the kind of friends that is more then just fun to be with? Are you a high reward bargain cost friend?

Are you the kind of friend that will be there to rescue another from potentially contagious laughter? Or maybe you’re more like Uncle Albert needing to be rescued because you just can’t stop laughing. I’m sure it’s a reward to be with you.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Patty Wysong
02/07/08
It's so true that if you hang out with encouraging people you learn to/become an encourager, too.

It's a good message, just make sure you round it out by good proofreading. I always have someone proof mine before submitting.

I liked the example of Uncle Albert, it makes me want to join him. :-)
Jan Ackerson
02/09/08
Good conversational tone, a pleasant read.

Check the spelling of "Bargain" in your title, and a few of your sentences had awkward structuring.

I, too, have memories of trying to stifle laughter in church. Wonderful.