Christians only please: How do I rid myself of negative loved ones and friends?

Question

....while I make my walk with GOD stronger. Just temporarily until I am strong enough to avoid gossip and those daily sins that I have incorporated in to my life. I am really trying to rid myself of those negative factors. I can deal with the other outside vibes.

Answer 1

♥Prayer is the biggest way overcome your obstacles.
Pray to God and sometimes God will make things easier.
♥Avoid gossip, and if your friends are gossiping, avoid them or tell them you have to leave, or don't want to talk about that anymore.
♥Remember, God always has a wonderful plan for you and following the Lord means you will never walk alone.
♥Pray for strength, courage, and an answer. Pray for a positive change and do something about it.
♥Don't just sit around waiting for something to happen.
You can pray for a plant to grow,
God will give you the rain and the sun, but nothing will happen unless you plant the seed.
♥A good idea would to become more active in your walk with the Lord. Do activities that help you grow as a Christian. Join a Bible study group, make an effort to go to church more, volunteer, meet new positive Christian friends that you can grow with spiritually, read your Bible daily, read a daily devotional book too to inspire you about God. Talking online to friends about the Lord can help too.

Answer 2

It's amazingly easy to let people drift out of your life, you just don't call them and you don't respond to their calls. Whether or not you should though is the real question. The only people the Bible says not to even eat with are those whom the church has enacted discipline on and been set outside of the camp. They are not responsible for your daily sins, they may influence you but with the Holy Spirit you have been given the ability to overcome such sin, it's your choice and perhaps by exhibiting that amongst them they will notice the change, and your witness will be that much stronger because then you will have actions to go with your words. I've avoided friends for the same reasons you discuss and other times I've maintained the friendship. I don't know which is right, and I don't know what's right for you in this. God gave you a conscience for that, I will say that it is important that you not make it seem like your dumping them because of God, it'll just come across like it's God dumping them through you.

Answer 3

Since you are working toward a closer walk with God, you have to keep a proper balance: don't reject those who, like you have flaws; but avoid putting yourself in the way of temptation. There can be some people who are so destructive that you just have to avoid them. Most people aren't that negative. You mentioned a temptation to gossip. Maybe you can learn to say something like, "I really don't want to hear about that. Don't talk to me about that, it's not good for me, and I don't want to talk about people behind their backs." If the person is used to gossiping with you you may have a little trouble convincing them that you mean it, but hopefully not too much. At some point they will have to get used to the new way you are handling things. Spend some time with people who support you in your efforts.

Answer 4

Matthew 5:44 ; Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hateyou, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
1 Peter 4:8 ;above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
definition of
Love= strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties ;warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion ;unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another:
definition of
charity: benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity;generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; lenient judgment of others
That is from the bible king james version, Now it sound from the human side that you have some deep personal issues and need a break, what ever you do don't burn your bridges with the ones you love and who love you, sometimes you can't rebuild them.
Just calmly talk to them and tell them you need some time and space for a little time, most ppl are pretty understanding. Honest is and always will be the best possible answer to any problem.
Hope that helps you but it is only just words. I hope you are able to see a counselor who can help you. Good luck.

Answer 5

Ignore & avoid. There's no need to tell anyone to "go away," insulting others certainly doesn't sound like what you're after =) Simply remove yourself from the situation, quietly and unnoticed. Or instead of running from something (like negative people) run TOWARDS something...start hanging out with people who are more positive. And in case I'm found out, I'll go ahead and admit, I'm not a Christian, but I do think you're going through a very "human" phase and we all, at times, have to "revise" the company we keep for our own good. Good luck!

Answer 6

Check with the churches in your area and see if any sponsor retreats or camps. When I need some "away" time, I book a hotel for a couple of days mid-week when it's cheapest. I just go about 50 miles, but it's a great rejuvenator. Don't take anything except what you want to focus on.
You need to develop the quality of "detachment". It's often linked with monastic or Bhuddist orders, but the practice applies to anyone. Wikipedia has links to resources.

Answer 7

You don't have to worry about ridding yourself of your negative loved ones and friends. As you get closer to the Lord, your relationship with Him will be obvious to them. At the same time, your interests will become different from their interests, and your activities will become different. If the influence they exert is really negative, they will either become your enemy or leave your friendship.

My concern is that you are doing this out of your own effort. Your question is, admittedly, full of "I am really trying... I can deal... I am strong...". Being a Christian is not about you transforming yourself to what Christ wants you to be, it is about Christ transforming you to His will. This can occur if you focus on your relationship with Him, getting to know Him better and communicating with Him in a regular basis. From there, your life will change, and mayhaps, affect the loved ones and friends, both negative and positive ones, in your life.

Answer 8

That's tough one...

I'm guessing the don't share your new beliefs? Well, you may find yourself...all of a sudden, busy.

Spend more time at Church, volunteering, getting into the word, finding a community group. Just keep yourself busy and surrounded with like minded people.

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm.

Grace to you and God Bless

Answer 9

If the negative people you are trying to avoid are family members, then you will have to pray and ask God to draw you closer to Him. When you grow closer to God, the evidence that God is with you will be seen by those in your family. They will sometimes be convicted by just being in your presence. However, some people will cling to you because the devil will use them to pull you back into your old life. You have to tell them plainly that you are trying to live a new life. It's important not to be afraid to lose friends because of your new life, so don't be afraid to cut them loose. My sister forsake me after I gave my life to Christ. She was very offended at me. Later on she came back and our relationship is great

Answer 10

I think the mistake people makes when they become Christians is they start judging people. It is not your job to judge them. If you don't want people in your life then love them from a distance. Love them for who they are but chose to not be around them. What people say about you is not your business. When people gossips about other that is because they are feeling bad about their life and they need to put others down to up lift themselves. You know its not true so all you can do is pray for them and move on.