“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).
Almost everyone would like to avoid toxic fumes. The reason is simple- once one inhales them they irritate the respiratory system which fights back through nervous coughing. Normally the easiest way out is to withdraw to a safe distance.
Just as there are toxic fumes, in life there is also toxic company. The case here being when one finds himself immersed in company that specializes in sharing nothing but negative vibes. Toxic company thrives in pulling down doomsday prophecies, almost about anybody or events. What motivates this relationship is to level anyone down and has rare anything uplifting to offer, be it news or personal comments on one’s efforts.
The Apostle Paul was very much aware of the dangers of toxic company and encouraged Believers in Christ to keep safe distance. For example, writing to his disciple Timothy, he cautioned him, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” ( 2 Timothy 2:16). Earlier he had cautioned him, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly” ( I Timothy 4:7).
We will always run into this kind of company which we must be cautious around. For once you let yourself be sucked into it, then it catches on you and soon you are also passing around its dangerous fumes. Toxic company does not build anyone other than leveling and sizing others to ground.
The opposite is rather to seek positive relationships that build up our spirit. For we are all well advised, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” ( I Thessalonians 5:11).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, may you guide me into positive company where we stir up each other in good works, and deter me from negative company that shrivels the spirit and leaves one down and deflated, this I pray in Jesus’s name.
