Walk With the Wise: A Word for the Social Media Age - Sean Bishop

Let me ask you a direct question today. In a world where everybody and their cousin has a platform, a microphone, and a ring light, who are you truly learning from?

Scripture does not leave us guessing on this. Proverbs 13:20 says plainly, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." And the Lord Himself declared through the prophet Hosea, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)

Two passages. One devastating truth. The company you keep and the knowledge you lack will either build you up or bring you down. There is no middle ground here. God does not mince words, and neither will I today.

We are living in one of the most spiritually dangerous moments in recent memory, not because the Bible is unavailable, but because people have stopped taking it seriously. You can download the entire Word of God on your phone in seconds, yet biblical illiteracy is at an all time high. And right in the middle of that crisis, social media has handed a megaphone to anyone willing to pick it up.

Here is what I have noticed, and I say this with genuine concern for the body of Christ. There is no shortage of people online who speak about the Word of God with tremendous confidence and authority. They use the right language. They know how to sound anointed. They post the quotes, they preach the clips, they build the following. But when you sit down and actually examine what they are saying against the Scripture - it does not hold up.

They have not studied. They have not sat under sound teaching. They have not wrestled with the text in prayer and humility. They are simply repeating things they heard, dressing it up, and putting it out for public consumption. And the tragedy is that thousands of people are eating it up, sharing it, and building their faith on it.

This is exactly what Hosea was warning about. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Notice God did not say His people were destroyed by outright paganism alone. He said they were destroyed by lack of knowledge. Ignorance dressed up in religious clothing is still ignorance, and it is still deadly.

When you follow someone who does not truly know the Word of God, you are not just wasting your time, you are walking toward destruction. Proverbs 13:20 tells us the companion of fools shall be destroyed. That is not a suggestion. That is a promise and not the kind you want kept.

Be a Sponge, Grow Like Christ

So what is the answer? It is not complicated, but it does require intentionality and humility.

Surround yourself with people who are genuinely wise, people who are knowledgeable about the Scriptures, who have spent years in the Word, who tremble at what God has said and are eager to pass it on. Find those people. Sit under those people. And when you find them, be a sponge. Take in everything they have to offer. Ask questions. Listen more than you speak. Let their wisdom saturate you.

The goal is not to become a great Bible trivia player. The goal is to grow more like Christ. That growth does not happen by scrolling through a highlight reel of spiritual-sounding quotes. It happens through genuine discipleship, through sitting under sound teaching, through opening your Bible and wrestling with the text yourself, through being part of a local church where the Word of God is rightly divided and faithfully preached week after week.

If you are serious about your walk with God, let me encourage you today. Find a mentor who knows the Word. Find a church that preaches the Word without apology. And stop letting social media be your primary source of spiritual nourishment. Those platforms were not designed to disciple you - but God's Word was.

Walk with the wise. Absorb what they teach. Study the Scriptures for yourself. And let the Lord shape you, through His Word and through His people, into the image of His Son.

That is not a trend. That is the ancient path >>> and it still works.