"Be not deceived evil communications corrupt good manners." -1 Corinthians 15:33 KJV
Every morning before I get out of bed, I either read a daily devotion and/or pray. Today's devotion was about toxic relationships. The people who you are in a relationship with can either be spiritual assets or toxic waste. This devotion made me analyze the relationships that I have in my life. Are the spiritual assets or toxic waste? A lot of times it's more than just toxic people, it can be toxic things as well. Whatever "it" is that is toxic God wants us to cut the relationship off. Those toxic things or people take our attention away from Him. When we become born again, God wants us to cut ties with anything or anyone that will take our attention away from Him. God wants our undivided attention. The toxic people or things in our lives that have our attention are like little gods that we put before God. God despises that! He said in His word that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5) and one of His commandments is that we shall have no other Gods before Him (Exodus 20:3).
In my studies I thought about when God to Abraham to leave his home, land, and family God told him to leave them and to go to a new place which He would tell him. Well, Abraham didn't completely follow God's instructions. In Genesis 12:14 the scripture tells us that Abraham has some company other than his wife, his nephew Lot was with him. Abraham had some extra baggage. From Genesis 12 to Genesis 19 you will see all that happened to Abraham because he decided to bring Lot. Some of us are like Abraham. God will tell us to leave (cut off) certain people or things, but we do the opposite. I know I did. We want our cake and to eat it too. Well, we can't serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). I think Abraham might have it a little easier if he fully obeyed God and left Lot.
Sometimes we interpret "cut off" as "slack off" We will take the things or people and slack off a little bit instead of cutting ties like God wants us to do. We will tell ourselves, "I won't make myself so available to them", "I will only watch this show once a month", or "I will stay off social media for a week." Then we get to a point where we are self deceived. We think we have cut ties, but *NEWS FLASH* we haven't. God wants all of us &and He wants to be number 1 in our lives. Nothing or no one is worth compromising our relationship with God. I tell myself every day, "I will not let myself, anyone, or anything compromise my relationship with God, my integrity, or my character."
God has given us everything, but we won't experience it if we won't cut ties to the little gods in our lives. What toxic things have your attention? Is it social media, friends, non-appropriate music, boyfriend or girlfriend? or perhaps, those weekly television shows, food, parents? Whatever "it" or he/she is, God wants you more. God has given us spiritual scissors to cut the toxic people and things out of our lives. However, we have to make the decisive decision to start cutting.
Thanks for reading!
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Very insightful, sound truth and wise counsel.
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