Beware the Passion Killers

Ever know someone who delighted in telling you why your ideas or methods were inferior or that they would never work? I'll bet we all have! These people inadvertantly make it their life mission to poo-poo on your parade.

I'd like to tell you about a specific kind of party pooper that will suck the life and the passion right out of your relationship with God if you let them. Now there are many kinds of joy killers out there but I want to zoom in on three of them. So here they are:

1. The Judges

These people will examine everything about you: What you drive, what you wear, how you talk, what you say, even what kind of toilet paper you'd prefer all in an effort to show you how you are doing it wrong.

These people tend to think they have all their junk together since they never miss a service at church and tithe regularly (Maybe). Although they appear good and religious they cause massive damage to the kingdom by turning people away from God when that person doesn't fit their idea of a 'real' Christian.

For these passion killers let me give you the answer the apostles told them. "We ought to obey God rather than man".

2. The Answer people

These people may not mean to discourage you but they still do. These people think they know everything there is to know about God. What a sad place to be!!! When people are hurting and need real compassion these people will throw one hundred Bible verses at the person thinking they are helping them.

I had a friend who just recently lost her baby. (It was her fourth loss!) In a time of exreme grief she posted on FB how she didn't understand why it happened and wondered where God was in all of it. It wasn't long before flocks of answer people 'helped' her out by sharing their wonderful Christian cliches that never helped anyone. I messaged her privately and told her that I thought it was great to see her willingness to be real and not fabricating a false sense of spirituality and slapping a plastic smile on like everything is ok when it's not.

Answer people belch out church answers they've heard in church their whole life instead of meeting people in their place of hurt. They have no idea how to truly help a hurting person.

3. The Negative Nancys

These people aren't judgemental of you and they rarely have any answers or offer up helpful solutions. No, the Negative Nancy's have one goal: to prove to everyone that this world, this country, this church, this boss is broken and flawed beyond all repair. They will find things wrong where there is nothing wrong at all.

If you spend too much time around these people you will find yourself starting to complain more, getting mad about your present circumstances, and even murmuring about how you've been wronged in some way.

Beware the complainers lest you become one yourself! There is more good to be grateful about than there is bad to whine about!

Hope this is a great reminder to beware the passion killers! Never let anyone get in the way of you pursuing God! What is more important than you pursuing God? I can't think of anything. If these people get in your way you have my permission to tell them "Get lost"...but I still love you...as a brother...in Christ ;)