4 Toxic Things To Cut From Your Life To Be Closer To God
I want to start off by saying this completely and 100% upfront. I am not directly telling you that you should stop doing these things if you are doing any of these mentioned. I’m not judging you if you did any of these things in the past, either. (I did them too, that’s why I’m writing this!)
I am also not saying that I am the perfect Christian because I most certainly am NOT, and I will never say otherwise. This is about toxic things that I cut out from my life, that helped me become closer to God. And, if any of this speaks to you, I know that it can help you to be closer too!
1- Cursing
Growing up as an only child, I lived with my Mom and my Grandma. They both cursed so much, basically, every other word was a curse word! So, you can guess what happened. Yep, I grew up cursing too. All the time. This is even embarrassing to say when I think about it, but when I reached adulthood, I cursed talking TO my mom all the time, because that’s just how our relationship was.
I remember before that started though, I would pray every day. I would pray for “My mom and Grandma to quit cussing and smoking” but, they didn’t quit either of things and I ended up making the choice to curse too. I’m so glad I never picked up the smoking habit.
I am also so thankful that I stopped cursing! Occasionally, I will feel the urge or it may even slip out but I am so glad that my kids are not growing up around that. And I am not saying I’m not a perfect mom (I most definitely am not). I have definitely cursed in front of them before, unfortunately. And I have felt like a terrible mother every single time.
What does the Bible say about cursing?
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
2- Scary Movies
Ohhhh man! Growing up, I watched scary movies ALL the time. Witchcraft movies were my specialty. I can still probably quote the entire movie The Craft. Now, I’m not saying all scary movies are bad. I’m not saying I don’t still watch them. But what I am saying, is that if they involve anything that is witchcraft, evil, demonic, I will stay far, far away.
I recently watched the Netflix movie Eli and I was very disappointed. I do like the occasional suspenseful movie, so I decided to watch this. However (spoiler ahead), the very last few minutes of the movie were COMPLETELY demonic and I was soooo upset! I couldn’t believe it!
Obviously that was the “turning point” in the movie so of course it wasn’t in the trailer, but I was so upset! If I would have known, I definitely would not have watched it.
I think the real key is that you know what is right from wrong. I myself, have watched the Child’s Play movie so many times. So I’m not judging, I’m right here with you. While I enjoyed watching Child’s Play growing up and friends and family still know me as openly loving the doll…when you think about it, it does NOT come from a place of God!
It’s literally about someone who trapped their soul inside of a doll.
So again, I’m not perfect. I’m literally right there with you.
What does the Bible say about watching scary movies?
"Stay away from every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22
3- Secular Music
When I tell you I’ve listened to mostly everything…I have. When people used to ask me “What kind of music do you listen to?”, when I was growing up, I would always give the same reply that still makes me laugh to this day. “I listen to everything except country music”. (Not that I had anything against country music…it was just something on the back burner of what I chose to listen to)
I listened to everything from B2K, Lil Wayne, Pretty Ricky, just to name a few. Most..if not all of their songs were filthy or just about girls. Yes, multiple girls. I think more than anything, I liked the beat of the song and then of course there are certain parts in every song that I liked.
As I had kids, I was observant of the things I listened to but I would still turn on the radio, and I still wasn’t monitoring or being mindful of what they were listening to.
One day, my husband came to men and said he thinks we should start listening to Christian music. I was so sad at first. I felt like I was missing out. But, once I prayed about it and really understood why he felt the way that he did…I felt it too. So we started listening to Christian Hip Hop. And let me tell you…it’s amazing!
So now, our kids are constantly getting the message of God, and we are dancing and loving the music all of the same, if not MORE than ever before.
What does the Bible say about secular music?
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
4- Toxic People
Ever heard the phrase “You are who you hang out with?”, or did I just make that up? Either way, I really believe that it is true. The people that you surround yourself with in you life are going to be the ones that either bring darkness or light.
Now, I am not sure if that ALWAYS fits the mold. I am saying this because growing up, especially as a pre-teen and teenager, the people who I hung out with I thought were “good people” but they made poor decisions. They made choices that I would never make for myself yet I was still their friend. I tried to be that “good influence” if I could.
However, now as an adult it’s more important than ever that I surround myself with people who not only believe the same truth that I do about God, but who actually make good decisions for themselves and their family. It’s really important that our children see the people we hang out with believe in God, and make good choices.
Now this is really hard to do. It’s hard to cut a toxic person out of your life and it may seem impossible at first and you may even doubt yourself. Pray about it. Let God guide you. If it doesn’t bring light to your life and shine light in the Kingdom of God, it’s time to let it go and move forward.
What does the Bible say about toxic people?
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Proverbs 13:20
There you have it. There are 4 toxic things to cut from your life to get closer to God. I truly believe with all of my heart that eliminating these things from your life will only get you closer to God. Here’s a recap:
- Cursing
- Secular Music
- Scary Movies
- Toxic People
However, I want to reiterate again that I am not perfect, nor am I telling you directly to do any of these things. I have been or am going through everything on this list, so I am really here with you on this journey. If any of this speaks to you in any way, pray about it. He really will listen.
It’s important that you think of things in your life that may be toxic that you should cut out. In fact, your list may be different than mine completely! We are all different but our goal is the same, to be closer to God and live eternally with Him!
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