Day 3
Deep Cleaning Toxic Influences
Have you ever noticed your anxiety spike after spending a lot of time reading the news? Does your blood sometimes boil after scrolling through social media, seeing the misinformation and arguments that inevitably fill the comments? Have you noticed yourself becoming more cynical, critical, or crude in your conversations with others after listening to certain music, watching certain shows, or following certain accounts?
While there’s nothing wrong with being informed, watching entertaining content, and spending time on social media, it’s wise to evaluate how all those influences are affecting us. If we’re finding ourselves feeling anxious, frustrated, and cynical instead of joyful, peaceful, and gentle, we might have a problem.
This isn’t a new phenomenon. Jesus talked about this during His time on earth, cautioning His disciples to make sure they weren’t allowing toxic influences to take root in their hearts.
In Matthew 16, Jesus and His disciples are traveling across the lake. At this point, Jesus has already fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, and the disciples are freaking out because they forgot bread. Jesus says something a bit odd in response:
“… But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:11 NIVJesus knew that a little influence goes a long way. Earlier, both the Pharisees and the Sadducees were trying to undermine faith in Jesus by trying to trap Him into saying something that could discredit His ministry. Jesus is warning His disciples not to allow that same kind of cynicism and doubt to pollute their minds.
Just as the disciples had to limit the influence of the Pharisees, we also have to limit what influences we allow. What may seem meaningless or insignificant can, over time, start to corrupt our character and poison our souls.
Jesus was serious about safeguarding ourselves against sin. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, he says that if your right hand causes you to sin, to cut it off. While we won’t literally need to cut away body parts, we do need to cut out anything in our lives that leads us to sin or causes us to stumble.
That doesn’t mean we have to cut out every influence, exclusively listen to Christian music, or only follow other Christians online. However, it does mean that we need to spend time praying about what influences are the best investment for us and asking the Holy Spirit to help us deep clean anything we’re consuming that is slowly corrupting our character.
And it’s not just about removing what’s toxic. It’s also about replacing bad influences with good influences—things that are true, right, noble, and praiseworthy. And when you make the switch, you just might find a little more of God’s peace in the process.
Pray: God, I want to please You in every area of my life, including the voices I listen to. Give me wisdom about any bad influences I need to cut out and show me how to honor You with my time. Help me fix my thoughts on things that are good, right, true, noble, and praiseworthy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 4
Deep Cleaning Toxic Relationships
Many of us struggle with the tension of loving others while also setting boundaries for ourselves. But what if the two aren’t at odds? What if setting boundaries might be the most loving thing you can do?
The thing is our friendships matter significantly. Pastor Craig Groeschel often says, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise. But the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 NIV
If your future is influenced by your closest friends, do you like the direction your life is headed?
It’s a big question, but it’s an important one to regularly ask yourself. It’s okay—and encouraged—to limit toxic relationships. That doesn’t mean we don’t love others or that we can’t have non-Christian friends.
It does mean that we set boundaries in our relationships and that our closest friends are ones who are encouraging us toward love, good works, and godliness.
Jesus modeled this for us in His ministry on earth. In Matthew 12, He’s hanging out with His disciples, and some Pharisees start questioning His character, His motives, and His friends. Jesus asks them a series of questions to try to help them see what’s right.
Then, He heals someone on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees are ticked off about it. In fact, verse 14 tells us that in that moment, they plot to kill Him.
What’s Jesus’ response?
He doesn’t stick around to convince them they’re wrong. He doesn’t continue to ask them to see reason. Here’s what he does:
Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed Him, and he healed all who were ill. Matthew 12:15 NIVJesus left. He set a boundary, and He stuck to it. He knew that staying would only anger the Pharisees and prevent Him from living out His purpose. So He moves on with His disciples and keeps healing people.
We can follow His example. We spend energy trying to love others, care for others, and tell others about Jesus. But when that energy is met with closed hearts and open hostility, we walk away and keep going.
We keep sharing God’s love. We keep doing God’s work. We keep doing what’s good.
It’s okay to limit relationships that limit you. While we are challenged to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, and go the extra mile for others, we’re also encouraged not to throw our pearls to pigs—meaning that we can’t spend all of our energy on those who won’t receive our love in the first place.
So, today, consider any relationships that you might need to deep clean. Then, spend time praying about how you can set some loving boundaries.
Pray: God, thank You for Your truth. Show me any relationships in my life where I need to set boundaries and give me the wisdom to know what those boundaries are and the courage to stick to them. Help me become a better friend to those in my circle, and show me which relationships to invest my energy in. In Jesus’ name, amen.