Scripture

Acts 25:6-9 (NASB95)

And after he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove, while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?”

1 John 2:15-16 (NASB95)

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Cowboy Wisdom

Festus rode into Jerusalem with an open mind, just wanting to get the lay of the land. But after eight or ten days among a crowd bent on Paul’s destruction, something in him shifted. He came back to Caesarea and wasted no time hauling Paul in for judgment (Acts 25:6-9). He didn’t start out crooked. He got there by riding too long with the wrong crowd.

Who you ride with shapes how you ride. First John 2:15-16 names three horses the enemy likes to saddle up: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Festus wasn’t chasing any of those directly — but the men surrounding him were consumed by all three, hungry for a verdict that fed their pride and their vengeance, and he caught the fever off of them.

Walk the cellblocks of any prison, and you’ll find the same pattern behind most of the bars — not one bad decision made alone, but a slow drift downriver in the company of people headed the wrong direction. It’s no different for believers whose lives come apart. Almost always, you can trace the unraveling back to an influence they let ride alongside them too long.

First Corinthians 15:33 puts it plainly: bad company corrupts good morals. This isn’t about writing people off — Jesus ate with sinners. It’s about knowing who’s shaping your compass. Choose the company that points you toward truth, and you’ll be a lot less likely to end up like Festus, doing favors for the crowd instead of doing what’s right.

Questions for Reflection

1. Who or what has been shaping your decisions lately — truth, or the loudest crowd around you?
2. Which of the three — lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life — tends to rope you in the easiest?
3. Festus chose to do the Jews a favor instead of doing right (v. 9). When have you compromised to keep people happy?
4. What would change in your life if you deliberately chose companions who point you to Christ instead of the crowd?

Prayer Focus

Father, guard my heart from the slow drift of bad company. Show me clearly which voices in my life are pulling me toward You and which are pulling me toward the world. Give me the courage to choose truth over approval. In Jesus’ name, amen.