"Help is the offer of assistance we extend to those who truly need it and want it. Help is not chasing after someone to give them something we think is of value even when they haven't asked for it and show no appreciation for it. Help is not visiting the same issues with someone over and over again when they've already heard the same thing a million times and haven't displayed any motivation to change." From the book "Character Disturbance" by George Simon.
Why do believers continue to stay in the lives of those who have no interest in the things of the Lord, have spurned our wisdom and abused us emotionally? I don't see Christ or Paul remaining in the lives of those who have rejected His Truth, so why do we?
The Lord has shown me in recent years, that when I see that my wisdom is not respected or desired, it is time to walk away. When I interject into conversations and regularly are demeaned or ignored, then I allow this for a time, until I realize that it has become a regular pattern with certain people, then the Lord says to me, "walk away, leave them to Me."
Why do we allow unresponsive people to dominate our lives and intimidate us causing frustration, only to leave us ineffective for the Lord. When God said "come out from among them and be ye separate" I am convinced that He knew what He was talking about.
When we surround ourselves with rebellious people, eventually we begin to respond and act like they do. God said "bad company corrupts good character." Continual company with superficial unteachable believers and rebellious non-believers will impede our spiritual growth and even cause us to reverse in our walk.
If we desire to think and act like Christ, depending on Him, deeply devoted to His Word, then we must surround ourselves with loving mature believers who encourage our determination to obey God.
The day I realized this very important principle, was a day of emancipation from the Narcissist, the manipulator and the pretentious. There is no value in wallowing in the sewage over and over again, we need to come away from the dung and wash in the fresh water of the Word to be with others who are washed.
YES... go into the sewer to bring the Good News but do not stay there with the unwashed that refuse to follow us out to be cleansed.
For those who want to come out, we will see a ravenous hunger for Christ's Word, a teachable and humble Spirit that receives the wisdom we offer from the Word with joy and gladness. These folks will not fight to justify their sin, nor will they be encumbered with pride of appearance, they have come to the Lord in brokenness over their sin and are delighted with being made a new creation by our Lord.
They do not hide from God or their brothers and sisters; they are transparent and ready to grow.
