This is part of the Walking the Narrow Road Road: A Year with The Pilgrim’s Progress
When Christian left the City of Destruction, he did not walk alone for long. The road out of ruin rarely stays quiet. Once you start moving toward truth, people notice. Some laugh. Some argue. Some come along for a while just to see what happens. And some walk beside you long enough to make the journey harder than it needs to be.
John Bunyan introduces two of the first companions Christian meets: Obstinate and Pliable. They could not be more different, yet both teach the same lesson. The people who walk with you will shape how you walk.
One refuses the truth outright.
The other follows it only as long as it feels good.
Both are warnings.
And both force us to ask a question most of us would rather avoid.
Who is shaping your walk with God?
The Man Who Would Not Listen
Obstinate represents the person who hears the truth and hardens against it. He sees Christian leaving the City of Destruction and thinks the whole thing is foolish. Why leave comfort? Why believe warnings about judgment? Why take the narrow road when the wide road feels easier and everyone else seems perfectly happy staying on it?
He does not want to understand.
He wants to stay where he is.
Scripture speaks directly to this kind of heart.
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” — 1 Corinthians 1:18
Obstinate is not confused. He is resistant.
The problem is not lack of evidence. The problem is love for the wrong things.
Most of us have known people like this. Sometimes they are friends. Sometimes family. Sometimes people who once seemed interested in the truth but slowly drifted back to what felt familiar.
The lesson here is not to become harsh or cynical.
It is to understand that not everyone who hears the call will follow it.
And if we are not careful, their resistance can begin to slow our obedience.
The Man Who Followed for the Wrong Reason
Pliable is different. He does not argue with Christian at all. In fact, he is excited. When he hears about the Celestial City, forgiveness, and eternal life, he wants to go immediately. The promises sound wonderful, and he does not want to miss out.
So he joins the journey.
But enthusiasm is not the same as conviction.
Pliable follows because the destination sounds good, not because the truth has taken hold of his heart. He is willing to walk as long as the road feels hopeful, inspiring, and meaningful. The moment the path becomes difficult, his confidence begins to fade.
That moment comes quickly.
Christian and Pliable fall into the Slough of Despond, the muddy pit Bunyan uses to picture the weight of conviction, guilt, and doubt that often comes when a person first realizes the seriousness of sin. The journey suddenly feels heavier than expected. The ground is not firm. The promises feel far away.
Pliable does not stay.
He climbs out, goes home, and decides the whole thing was a mistake.
Jesus described this kind of response long before Bunyan ever wrote the story.
“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself… and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” — Matthew 13:20–21
Pliable wanted the crown.
He did not want the cross.
And that difference decides who keeps walking.
Bad Company Corrupts Good Character
Bunyan’s picture fits perfectly with Paul’s warning.
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’” — 1 Corinthians 15:33
Paul wrote those words to believers who were being influenced by people who denied the resurrection. The issue was not just ideas. It was relationships. The voices they listened to were shaping what they believed.
That is still true today.
The people around you will influence your faith more than you think.
Not always because they intend to, but because walking together always means growing together in some direction.
Some companions pull you toward Christ.
Some pull you toward comfort.
Some pull you back toward the City of Destruction.
Wisdom is learning the difference early, before the road gets harder.
The Narrow Road Requires the Right Company
Christian begins his journey with the wrong companions, but the story does not leave him there. As he keeps walking, God brings him people who strengthen his faith instead of weakening it.
Faithful.
Hopeful.
The Interpreter.
The Shepherds.
Each one helps him see more clearly and walk more steadily.
That is how the Christian life is meant to work.
We are not meant to walk alone.
But we are also not meant to walk with everyone.
Proverbs says it with quiet simplicity.
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.” — Proverbs 13:20
Your direction is shaped by your companions.
Not all at once.
Not always in ways you notice right away.
But steadily, step by step, mile by mile.
Walk It Out
Take a moment and think about the people closest to your spiritual life right now.
Who encourages you to trust Christ when the road is hard?
Who makes obedience feel unnecessary?
Who disappears when conviction gets heavy?
Who keeps walking with you when the path feels uncertain?
You do not need many companions on the narrow road.
But you do need the right ones.
Ask the Lord to give you friends who love truth more than comfort, grace more than appearance, and Christ more than the approval of the world.
And ask Him to make you that kind of companion for someone else.
Because the journey to the Celestial City is not only about where you are going.
It is also about who walks beside you along the way.
