Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals

My Uncle Told Me bad company corrupts good morals.

I didn't believe it when I was young. Other people weren't going to change me.

Yeah, they can, and yes, they did.

I got through college and hardly ever swore. I rarely said "D***" and never used the F word. Ever.

That was something else he told me. Cursing is for the lazy and weak-minded who don't know how to express themselves.

After a few years working in the chemical plant alongside some very rough characters, I changed.

One day I was in an office in the main building and vehemently gave my opinion about some software we used.

I was called in to Personnel, where they told me someone complained about my language. They reprimanded me for it. Rightly so, and shame overwhelmed me.

I thought how disappointed my Mother would be.

I thought how right my Uncle was.

Learning NOT to swear was hard.

Once you learn to do something bad, it is really hard to get back to the straight and narrow. The old story about the nails in the board comes to mind.

You know what else? It's biblical. Joshua is about to die and gives the Israelites the same warning about bad company and the punishments. (They ignore him, eventually.)

A shorter version is 1 Corinthians 15:33 - "Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character."

My Uncle was a smart guy.



I had a favorite Uncle, which seems odd since neither my father or mother had brothers.
He was really my Mother's Uncle - and he told me a lot of good things.
Even if he didn't, I'll attribute the good to him, since that was the kind of man he was. More on him later.