This past Sunday, we looked at Phil 3 in our study called The Pursuit of Joy. In this chapter Paul challenges his readers to watch out for 3 things that can steal our joy. Here is a run down of the things we should watch out for.
1. Watch out for NEGATIVE PEOPLE
None of us enjoy hanging out with negative people because they such the air right out of our world. We prefer to be with people who are possitive because they bring life into our lives. Sometimes Christians can be the most negative people on the planet. We can tend to be way too focused on what people do and don’t do or more concerned about communicating what we are against instead of displaying what we are for. Paul understood that his young church was about to encounter negative people who were going to show up and tell them all the things they were doing wrong.
When we have people like this show up in our lives we need to keep them at arms distance, don’t let them get too close or walk away if we can. Your success in life is determined in large part by the friends you keep. Make sure that those who are close to you breath air into your world and build your confidence in yourself and in God’s love for you.
Tomorrow, the second thing that Paul warns us to watch out for.
