Recognize Influence

Proverbs 1:10-19

10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

This warning is clear, those who seek to gain unjustly will meet retribution. We shouldn't be angry with those described in this passage, we should pity them. But we should also be cautious of them. Even a bird is smart enough to avoid a trap when it sees it, we should do the same by avoiding people who try to entice us into this lifestyle. At first glance I find this in direct contrast to the commands and actions of Jesus in his interactions with "sinners". Jesus regularly met with thieves and prostitutes, in his earthly ministry, shouldn't he have avoided them as this passage suggests? The difference is influence. Jesus was influencing them for the best, instead them influencing him for the worst. As believers we are called to love the unlovable, but also beware of their influence on us.