“I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.” (Psalm 26:4-5 NIV).
One of the greatest dilemmas of the Christian life is how we interact with the world. One the one hand we have the command “‘Come out from among them and be separate, touch no unclean thing and I will receive you’ . . .says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corintians 6:17-18 NIV). On the other hand we know that Jesus ate with sinners [that is the common excuse I receive whenever I challenge professed believers who frequent places believers have no place being (more on that in a minute)] and we read commands such as, “9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10 NIV).
So, should the Christian stay away from unbelievers? Should we pull away and isolate ourselves? I don’t think so. Neither David in this Psalm nor God throughout the rest of His book calls us to the monastic life. Having said that, however, let me also make it clear that both in our text and throughout Scripture it is obvious that there are certain places and associations that believers should avoid. Jesus ate with sinners, but He didn’t become one of them. Sadly, many who use this argument from the example of Jesus are not following His example. I can point to six women who sat in my office and used this argument to justify their frequent visits to a local bar known for its line dancing and singles scene. All six of these women were married. Their arguments were exactly the same, “I don’t go for the drinks, I like to line dance and my husband doesn’t. I go for the atmosphere.” By the way, today all six are divorced and at least two are living with men they met who, when I initially challenged them about that relationship assured me “Oh, we’re just friends.” (I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday!)
When we Christians try to become popular with the world, we will always end up harming our witness. The Life Application Bible has a wonderful comment on this passage. It says “Ask about the people you enjoy, ‘If I am with them often, will I become less obedient to God in outlook or action?’ If the answer is yes, carefully monitor how you spend time with these people and what affect it has on you.” The Bible reminds us, “33 Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV). It has been my experience (both personally and through years of observing people) that what the Bible says on this subject is true. When the believer is in wrong contact with the wrong crowd, no matter how good the motives, no matter how well intentioned they may have been, it is not the believer who pulls the unbeliever up, it is the unbeliever who pulls the believer down!
It is this process David has in mind when he writes this Psalm. The Living Bible puts it, “I do not have fellowship with tricky, two-faced men; they are false and hypocritical. 5I hate the sinners’ hangouts and refuse to enter them.” To have fellowship means that we have something in common with someone. The obedient believer has nothing in common with the fallen world, that is what David is referring to in verse 4. And I like The Living Bible’s take on verse 5: “5I hate the sinners’ hangouts and refuse to enter them.” More believers, under the guise of witnessing opportunities go into situations where the opportunity to witness is non-existent. The result is instead of being an effective witness for Christ, before long the believer has compromised his or her commitment to Christ and, while they may attempt to witness, those to whom they are witnessing are snickering thinking, “Who does he think he is? He’s no different than any of us here!”
By the way, the word “sit” in verse 4 & 5 carries the idea of being comfortable with something; of settling in. “Consort” of course means to “fit in.” It is appropriate that David should choose this particular word when talking about hypocrites. The world accuses the church of being full of hypocrites. Unfortunately, because of the behavior of a lot of professed believers, the charge sticks. Many believers fit right in with the hypocrites of the world.
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