2 Chronicles 20:35 

New International Version (NIV)

Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.

For Meditation

Why do good people align themselves with bad people? Why do those who know better disregard the obvious and smooch the wicked?

Should we elevate family ties above godly concerns? Should we honor earthly relationships at the expense of God’s honor? Does anything matter who we choose to associate with?

The fact is, when we go soft on sin we see nothing wrong with evil behavior of the people around us. We convince ourselves that it’s not us, but them, so we can separate their behavior from our relationship with them. We come to believe the lie that it’s alright to engage the disobedient in business or other personally beneficial associations without doing what they do. We forget the principle of sin by association (Deut. 7:3-4; 2 John 10-11), and sin by neglect to do what is right (1 Sam. 2:29).

King Jehoshaphat became guilty of the first principle and came under the rebuke of the Lord. Consequently, he lost his investment in their shipping venture (37). He was a good king who loved the Lord. But sometimes, our personal feelings obscure our godly convictions and lead us to rationalize the obviously sinful behavior to please others or for personal gain. Many Christians have suffered the same fate and realized their folly too late.

For the sake of God’s honor, may we never downplay or rationalize the sins of others and their evil ways by striking associations with them for whatever reason we may put up. Rather, may we hold high, His glory in everything we do by speaking against the evil ways of the people around us, and refraining from seeking associations with them for our temporal benefit.

Shalom