The Company You Keep

As I was having some "God time" last night, I came across a book I read a long time ago called SAFE PEOPLE.  The last time I read this was because I was trying to avoid being hooked up to unsafe people and being abused again.

Last night, I discovered something really different.  I was asking myself "where am I in this? Am I a person who is SAFE to be around?"  Self-reflection is not only a good idea but important when you are in a position of helping others who are really struggling.  It's the "remove the board from your own eye so you can see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye," example.

I went carefully through the signs of a "safe" person in the book, realizing I need to make some changes...well, God needs to make some changes in me.  Up until yesterday, I had no idea what the definition of "gossip" actually was.  I thought gossip was when you talk to one person about another person, with the intent of tearing down that person just because you don't like them.

I had heard that saying "we need to pray for so and so" can even be a form of gossip.  It even goes beyond looking at the "motive" for sharing information.  The definition someone gave me, is that gossip is "talking to someone about something they can do nothing about."  I honestly have NEVER heard this...but with it being described that way, I now realize that I've been very guilty of this over the years.  If I were to continue talking to people about other people, situations, that they have no control over or no way to change, that would make me an UNSAFE person.  I don't have a desire for people to feel "unsafe" around me, so now I'm re-learning some ways of behaving.

With all that soul-bearing having been done, I'm now going to talk more about what a SAFE person is, how to not attract unsafe ones, and what the Bible has to say about "the company you keep."

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