Influence and Reputation

I just heard a message about how we should not be around certain people by a prominent pastor.  He is certainly correct.  Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor. 15:33)  I suppose the major problem with avoiding people who are not "at your level" is that you also avoid people who may indeed be flawed in many areas that can influence you (rub off) but they genuinely desire to improve; but because you avoid them, they don't have your example in their life to help them to grow.  It seems to go against what Jesus actually DID in the incarnation.  (That is, come to a people who had nothing good to offer Him).

When I served in college ministry, I recall a student of mine who saw a young woman around dusk under a light pole.  He clearly felt like God wanted him to engage her in conversation.  But because the evening was becoming dark, he said he was concerned about people's perception of him talking to a sister in the dark (he had a great reputation as both a believer and a bridge builder and generally speaking, it is right to be concerned about our reputation) so he did not go.  I reminded him about Jesus, who also risked His reputation to help people see God more clearly.

Surely, we should be concerned about how people perceive us and also how we influence them. It seems to me, that a most important role for us is to be influencers and not so much influenced by people who might rub off on you the wrong way. So...to the degree that you are able to influence or be influenced, that is a good gauge by which you may consider to be around people or not.

But by all means, don't simply avoid people who are "not on your level" or aren't yet perfected in everything. That seems to be arrogance.