I've been making difficult changes. My prayers have been for the wisdom to categorize my relationships..to distinguish which soils are toxins and which are food. As undeniably naive as I am, this isn't something that comes easy. I know good and bad, I know right and wrong; but I struggle with reason. It isn't that I'm desperate to believe everyone is good. It's that I believe it. And I am happy to have a heart that allows the reality of what's behind a character flaw to outweigh the actual flaw - I accredit that only to having prayed for years that I would see and love people the way Jesus does. But now, with a twisted arm and heavy heart, I've finally started praying for the wisdom and courage to form healthy boundaries. It's torturous almost, but I know it's right.
If you're anything like me, it may have taken a few dying branches to understand the importance of using discretion to create boundaries. We are called to love without condition and without favoritism; but we are warned against being unequally yoked spiritually.
The problem with taking root in toxic soil is that it will ultimately poison the tree; how, then, will the tree produce the oxygen it was intended to make?
The problem with taking root in toxic soil is that it will ultimately poison the tree; how, then, will the tree produce the oxygen it was intended to make?
Don't be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. - 1 Corinthians 15:33
He who walks with the wise grows wise. -Proverbs 13:4
Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge. -Proverbs 14:7
How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD's instruction and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. -Psalm 1:1-3
