Column by Bro. Terry Ivy
“For he will deliver you the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence." (Psalm 91:1) Why is it important for us to live sensitive to the Holy Spirit? Because not everyone seeks to do us good. Toxic people with toxic motives seek to secretly intoxicate our lives with their own strands of toxicity. The Lord, in His mercy and grace, delivers us from the traps of the enemy by freeing us from the drama of toxic people.
What is a toxic person? Anyone whose drama continually sucks the life out of us. They only need us for their advantage, and they will use us like a box of disposable diapers—filling our life with their sewage and then discarding us when we are no longer needed. These toxic people can come in the form of family members and so-called friends. They will use, abuse, and manipulate to get what they want. They are ungrateful, unforgiving, unthankful, and sour. Their lives are filled with lies, bitterness, and gossip. Run from them like you would a cottonmouth moccasin.
We are entering the holiday season. That is the time of year when we face the expectations of society to gather with people we don’t like and buy them things they don’t need with money we don’t have. Don’t let toxic people ruin your celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I would rather spend time with a homeless person seeking truth than to entertain the folly of fools.
Drama queens and kings only add backbiting and confusion to our life. Let us be strong enough in our faith to let God remove these toxic people from our life. The Lord will replace them with men and women who value our friendship and appreciate our life. We all know people whose only goal is to try and make everyone else as miserable as they are.
Toxic people are like Satan’s cool-aid. Don’t drink from their cup. They are like magicians who perform card tricks in order to prevent anyone from seeing through their drama. Don’t be the monkey for these organ-grinding musicians. As we say goodbye to toxic people, the peace of God will return and bring calm to our life.
Let us drink from the fountain of God's refreshing Spirit. As we do, we will enjoy sweet fellowship with those who genuinely love Christ and seek to follow Him. When Jesus spoke truth to some of his followers, they turned and walked away. He did not chase after them. Instead, he let them go. We must be secure enough to let the Lord remove toxic people from our life.
Let us pray for one another as we all seek to avoid the 'snare of the fowler.’ Let us bend our hearts and knees and give thanks to the Lord for his abundant blessings. Let us focus upon the birth of our Lord. And finally, let us enjoy… Freedom from Toxic People!
