There is a phrase that most people seem to understand unless you are Ron Burgundy. It has taken on some various interpretations as Romans did many different things. For the most part, it looks like they lived it up pretty well over the top. They had the chance to participate in many different activities, some good, some bad, some just celebrating total brutality and depravity. Is the statement then saying, when you are in an environment where people are acting like this, it is perfectly OK for you to do the same? Or was the original intent of the message to encourage you to live your life to the fullest extent possible? How about this perspective. When you are around people who are acting a certain way or even emulating a stereotyped behavior, you will either assimilate into their world or from the outside you will be judged as being the same.
You may be the lone holdout in you holding true to your values in a big crowd of thieves, however, to the people looking at the group, you are a thief. The more you preach you are not, the more one may feel you are just trying to deceive them. If you were of such great moral standard, why then are you hanging out with a den of thieves? I would more reflect the statement “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” may be an even bigger statement as to the phrase “Guilt by Association”. In your world, have you ever looked at the groups and people you associate with from the perspective of this? Have you aligned yourself with groups, teams, and friends who share common values? When people see you affiliated with them, they should have no false reads on who you are or what you have to offer? If not, it may be time to look at where you can fit it. The collective thought process of aligned people is one of the best tools you can have in your personal and professional life.
