when you walk into a den of snakes, you shouldn't be surprised if you are bitten

The following was written in 1996 for a group of inmates in Creek County Jail in Oklahoma.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. (Psalm 1:1)

When you walk into a den of snakes, you shouldn't be surprised if you are bitten.

I remember reading that one time, and it almost immediately made sense.  And the older I get and the longer I know people, the more sense it makes.

What it means is that if you hang around with bad people, bad things will happen. 

If your friends are always in trouble, you will always be in trouble.  If you associate with criminals, chances are high you will become a criminal.  If your friends are always shooting each other, sooner or later, they will shoot you or you'll shoot them.

David was a King of Israel in the Old Testament and was a fugitive from the law two times in his life.  Once, after God had told him that he would be the next king of Israel, he had to run from the current king, who wanted to kill him.  The other time, had to run from his son who didn't like him and got enough support to become king himself.

That is why David wrote in Psalm 1 that a man was blessed if he walked with other good people.  He'll be like a tree that is beside good water and in good ground.  Whatever he does will be good because he hangs around with good people.  People that hang around with bad people will be blown away like dirt or ashes from burned paper and is always afraid he will get caught.

David says here that people who hang around good people turn out good,  He also said that people who hang around bad people turn out bad.  That doesn't mean that they were meant to go that way; it's just that that's the way they organized their lives.

Unlike a tree, you can put yourself in whatever place you want to be.  You can choose.