Toxic People (Part 2)

Toxic People (Part 2)

Romans 14:16, 17 

Any relationship without regular interaction and communication is going to have problems, especially when there’s a lack of commitment. Toxic people only want the conversation on their behalf, not for your benefit.

-Toxic People who only want you around when it’s convenient for them.  You shouldn’t have to force someone to make a space in their life for you, because if they truly care about you they will gladly create space for you. Being in a friendship with someone who overlooks your worth isn’t loyalty, its stupidity.  Never beg someone for attention.  Know your self-worth, and move on if you must.

-Toxic people refuse to accept that you are no longer who you used to be and that you’ve made mistakes in the past, learned from them, and moved past them.  They can’t stand the fact that you’re growing and moving on with your life and they’re not, so they will try to drag your past to catch up with you.  Do not help them by acknowledging their negative behavior.  Holding on to the unchangeable past is a waste of energy and serves no purpose in creating a better day today.  If someone continuously judges you by your past and holds it against you, you might have to repair your future by staying clear of them.

-Toxic people forfeit relationships that keep the doors and windows wide open.  When there’s plenty of air flowing no one feels trapped.  Real relationships thrive in this kind of unrestricted environment.  You can come and go as you please, but you choose to stay because where you are is where you want to be. If you want to be a part of someone’s life, all the open doors and windows in the world won’t make you leave.  Toxic people want them closed in an effort to trap you into something you don’t want to be a part of. When that happens in life or in church it’s time to find the strength to kick down the door and leave those individuals alone. 

-Toxic people discredit your dreams and abilities. If you allow them to define your dreams and abilities, then you enable them to hold you back.  What you’re capable of achieving is not a function of what other people think is possible for you.  What you’re capable of achieving depends on what you choose to do with your time and energy. Life is an open-ended journey, and what you achieve comes from what you expect to achieve and what you work to achieve. So don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.  Keep living your truth.  The only people that will get mad at you for doing so are those who want you to live a lie and be cursed instead of blessed.

-Toxic people will lie to you more than once. Love is a verb, not a noun.  It is active in all friendships.  Love is not just feelings of passion and romance between lovers, but also a behavior among friends and family.  If someone lies to you, they are disrespecting you and your friendship with them. When you keep someone in your life, who is a chronic liar, and you keep giving them new chances to be trusted and they do the same things over and over again, you have a lot in common with this person. You’re both lying and being unloving to you!