Corinth was one of the largest cities in the Roman world…a strategic commercial center with many international visitors and in this we find the problem for the early Christian Church there. Many thought it was necessary and thus permissible to associate with “worldly people”….while others in the Church maintained that a measure of isolation was necessary for holiness. Sadly, the entire Church felt they had received Salvation and now nothing else mattered. Paul uses a Proverb from a Greek play here to show how worldly they had become. The comparable Jewish saying is, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” showing the dangers of a corrupting influence that slowly permeates and perverts good morals. We’ve all had that certain friend or group of friends that we know we shouldn’t hang around with…but we still do…and instead of drawing them closer to Jesus, we end up doing things we shouldn’t. It’s called compromising ourselves, not that we intended to from the start, but when peer pressure is too much, we cave in rather than say No. As Paul warned the Church in Corinth, be careful of bad company that will ruin your good morals and character.