Corrupt Company

There’s a fairly well-known story in the Gospel’s about a man who brought his son to Jesus for healing of his tormented body from an evil spirit. One version of the story can be found in Mark 9.

After bringing his son to the disciples for healing, which they couldn't do (based not on their absence of power, but on the father’s absence of faith), he desperately cries out to Jesus to heal him.

And we witness, in this story, the weakest level of faith found in all of scripture. The father says to Jesus, “Have mercy on us if you can.” (verse 22b)

And of course Jesus could. He responds to the man’s unbelief by saying, “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

And of course we know the rest of the story.
Jesus heals.
In fact, no where else are the words spoken concerning the casting out of an evil spirit and only penned by Mark, Jesus says, “I command you to come out of this child and NEVER ENTER HIM AGAIN.”

But I want to take a closer look at something else, perhaps less recognizable.

Verse 26 documents what happens following the casting out of the evil spirit.
The bible says this, “Then the spirit screamed and thew the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, ‘He’s dead.’”

Only in the NLT do we find the additional word here, “murmur.”

And it’s an interesting word that means this = “a mumbled or private expression of discontent; moan, growl, babble, grumble, complain, murk.”

And I started thinking of how influential negativity can be on our lives.
How burdensome the complaints can be on a person - especially one working so hard towards righteousness.

We can see an authenticity in the father’s heart… a sincere desire to have his faith strengthened. In verse 24, following the gentle rebuke from Jesus concerning His ability to heal, the man says, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” The TPT says it this way, “… help my little faith.”

I have a hard time holding back the tears when I read this.
Because the truth is we’ve likely all been there.
We can perhaps all recall a time when our faith, though present, was deficient.
And so many of us can relate to the father’s desperation for all he lacked that could just be contributing to the very condition his son currently found himself in.

And the truth here is that faith, when weak, has the tendency within it to become even more anemic when in close proximately to those with none at all.

The father, in a current state of hopelessness, was greatly attempting to rekindle what had been left smothered for far too long. And the murmuring from the crowd who had been pressing in long and hard with cynicism and suspicion, was the last thing he needed.

My daughter has a saying we joke about in our family. She loves to say it, “Mom, that helps no one.” She’d say it when I stated the obvious about the impending doom of school work deadlines in high school. I’d say, “Chloe, you have just a few hours left to complete that project!”, to which she’d respond, “That helps no one!”

We chuckle, but I suppose it’s true.

The boy here, appeared dead.
At first glance it would seem as though there was reason to have a confirmed skepticism regarding Jesus’ attempt to heal.
But when Jesus spoke, healing was administered, regardless of present conditions of confusion.

And so it becomes, for us, a lesson concerning the company we keep.
Pay attention to the ones who murmur and complain.
Be watchful of the ones who remain contemptuous and derisive.
It truly helps no one.

We need to surround ourselves with those who inspire us to faith. Those who encourage us in our spiritual advancement. Those who believe with us for impossibilities, especially when the present course seems impassible.

While we are called to a hurting, sin-filled world and charged to bring the Gospel message to every unbelieving heart, we must carefully and jealousy guard OUR hearts from the disease of pessimism and bitterness - lest we become like them. (Ps 135:18) We must attend well to the selection of those within our closest circles, so that we are properly strengthened by the collective faith of our tribe.

Weak faith is compromised by corrupt company.