I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
Matthew 11:11
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During bible study as we talked about faith, it became apparent to me what a great impact our environments make to our growth emotionally and spiritually. The word toxic is not just a word one ought to throw around. A toxic environment, or poisoned environment, ensures that nothing grows in that environment. It steals, kills, and destroys, and that is its motive. It’s not an accident. The person or people who cause this kind of environment benefit from it—they thrive whilst the others around them languish, because it’s meant to create an imbalance so that somebody can be in control of others. It’s meant to subdue, render people incapable of flourishing without that person’s consent. Poisoned environments degrade trust, communication, confidence, productivity, peace; one can’t properly self-actualize in such a space, until they disconnect emotionally, spiritually and physically.
God is faithful, and God is merciful. He has not called us to languish when we find ourselves in these spaces. But recognize that such spaces have a motive and an agenda. I once lived with roommates that I did not talk to for 3 years. There was constant tension in the house. Looking back, I ask myself why I chose to stay rather than choose an environment that was peaceful and relaxed. Why did I choose convenience inside chaos? Why did I not make an attempt to change an abnormal situation?
As I am learning that faith requires us to take more responsibility than I conceived, it’s becoming apparent that we renege responsibilities in our spiritual walk a lot. It’s possible to not know that you’ve been poisoned until symptoms begin to show. But when we know, we rarely do anything about it, oblivious to the fact that these environments don’t just steal peace, but the agenda is to kill and destroy. They are there to put you into bondage and to kill good things in your life. Moreover, they are to disempower you from using your authority and power in Christ to 1) fix what is within your power to, or 2) liberate yourself.
There’s always an end goal of destruction. There are things we physically see being destroyed, but have you considered what is the impact long term; what is the hidden agenda for the destruction that has been released? If our world is not just physical, what is the spiritual implication?
In Christ, we have a choice to make; in Him we have the option to make choices that are buttressed by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We are not chained to bad decisions, neither are we to remain condemned by them. However, there is a choice that one ought to make to change the trajectory of our lives; to protect our work, our destiny, and to not only arise in power, but walk in the victory given to us through Jesus Christ.
As children of God we are not powerless people. With all our church going, praying, giving, worshipping and praising, I think a lot of us are like John the Baptist, full of power to destroy our enemies. But if we don’t wake up, our enemy will serve our heads on a silver platter.
