Bad company corrupts good character.
—1 Corinthians 15:33
Work behind the perfume counter and you’ll smell like perfume. Work in the fish market and you’ll smell like fish. “You are known by the company you keep,” goes the saying.
You are also shaped by the company you avoid.
Proverbs pegs some chums to shun:
The foolish: “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (13:20).
The gossip: “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much” (20:19).
The hot-tempered: “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared” (22:24-25).
Never bathe in dirty water.