Remove the Toxic, Just Not Me – Luke 17:3–4
March 7, 2020““Be concerned about yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times he returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him”
I don’t like toxic people. They make me feel bad. They frustrate me. They disrupt my emotional well-being.
Afterall, they would stop being so…toxic…to me…if they were REALLY sorry.
Don’t they know that I am a delicate flower, easily wilted by the negativity of a world, which refuses to treat me with the respect and consideration of which every person is entitled.
Surely, someone who sins against me every 3-1/2 hours, lies to me, cheats me, yells at me, insults me, is bad for me. What about me? They are toxic and I should banish them from my presence. Everyone will surely agree…
But God…there is always the “but God” clause for a world focused on “me”.
I don’t know how often I sin against God. It probably is more than once every 3-1/2 hours when you consider that I am asleep for 8 hours. However, I can make a case that my subconscious assumes my sinning ways if my dreams are a revelation of my hidden toxicity. So, it is probably worse than I care to believe.
How can I not be toxic to God?
I don’t do what He says to do. I do what He says not to do.
I don’t acknowledge Him. I claim the glory belonging to Him.
How can I not be toxic to God?
I don’t understand the grace He has shown me. The countless times He has forgiven me. The toxic presence that He continues to wash clean.
So, what about me?
How can I not forgive in a manner that I am continually being forgiven?
I was never called to be a delicate flower. I was called to the strong tower. I was called to take up my cross and share in the suffering caused by the lost.
TOXIC people cause suffering of the redeemed…this should not be a surprise.
Let’s just count it all joy for suffering like our Lord and stop whining about serving the toxic like we will never receive a reward.
https://babylonbee.com/news/god-decides-cut-toxic-people-life-7-5-billion-dead/
https://ref.ly/Lk17.3-4 via the Logos Bible Android app.
A DEVOTED LIFE 
Yes, yes, yes. There is always the “But, God”…. and there is always the “But, we must”. Covenant. Hard truth, loving truth, demanding love, freeing love. Thank you.
Hi Jane. Thanks for your comment!
There you go, hitting the nail on the head again. Ouch! Thanks for the reminder of our call to be different than the world…to actually love others the way Jesus loves them (& us).
Thanks for the comment; isn’t it amazing how the subtle philosophies of the world just creep in? We really are supposed to be different than the world.
THe trick is in loving the toxic without letting their toxicity infect you.