Pastor Bridgette Hill - The Toxicity of Me: Lord, Dont Let Me Be Toxic

THE TOXICITY
OF ME

LORD, DONT LET ME
BE TOXIC

PASTOR BRIDGETTE HILL

WATCH THOSE WHO HAVE TO MAKE YOU
LOOK LITTLE TO MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK BIG!

Copyright 2022 Pastor Bridgette Hill.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5544-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5545-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5543-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022901003

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/06/2022

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my family and friends, who were never too tired or occupied to listen. You allowed me to vent, cry, and express myself without judgment. Because there are so many people who do not have the outlets I was blessed to have, I am writing this book for them. I want them to know that deliverance from self is indeed possible no matter how the toxicity entered their lives.

Ms. Hill is intentional!

I purposely wrote this book with extra spaces between each line so you can add notes. Please get a red pen (ballpoint only) and add what the Lord gives you. If you see there are things that need to be changed and/or addressed in your life, highlight the issue with your pen as you read and assess your actions.

The goal is to make you take a closer look at your actions as well as those you interact with to become a better you.

I AM TOXIC.

AM I TOXIC?

THEY ARE TOXIC, NOT ME.

I AM TOXIC, NOT THEM.

HE DID IT

THEY DID IT

Lord, please dont let me be toxic but a blessing.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:3132

Have you ever been around people who made you sick? You talk to them and walk away feeling as if they have opened a trash bag filled with stinky, smelly, rotten trash and poured it on you. I have been around people so negative I feel like I need to take a bath because they are so heavy. These people are toxic!

Everything they say is negative. They find ways to attack you every chance they get. They say ugly things to get a laugh at your expense. Toxic! You are the butt of every joke. There are people who will embarrass you publicly. These people will dog you out in public to make themselves look grand, which means important, wonderful, and fascinating. Toxic!

Life Nugget

If people have to make you look little
to make themselves look big or better,
they are dealing with insecurities
of their own. Let me say this to you,
Run! They are not your friends.

These people hate or cant stand anyone else. They have an opinion on everything, and the majority of their opinions and comments are negative.

Can You Say Toxic?

It is my prayer that we take a good look at ourselves to see if we have toxic tendencies. Ask yourself these questions:

When I speak, do I say negative things most of the time?

When I think, do I think negative thoughts most of the time?

When I am at work, do my coworkers come to me or run from me ?

When I am at work, am I looked at as someone with a bad attitude or someone who is pleasant to be around ?

When I am with my family, I am viewed as someone my family wants to see come home, or am I viewed as someone they hate to see come home ?

When you meet with your friends, are you discussing negative things most of the time ?

How do you feel after leaving those conversations?

Do you feel drained when negative people leave you?

Its always something blah, blah, blah.

Toxic people are defined as anyone who is abusive, unsupportive, or emotionally unhealthy. They bring you down more than up. If you are not careful, you may begin to doubt your own opinions because theirs tend to override yours. They want you to think like them.

POINT 1

Toxic People Are
Manipulative

Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his
ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Proverbs 22:2425

T oxic people work to change your way of thinking. They want to persuade you to do things their way. They will even trick you into doing the things they want to see done. Beware: If youre not careful, you will find yourself moving more their way than yours.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:15)

And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. (Matthew 24:4)

You should watch the company you keep. I suggest you refresh your contact list annually. The same people should not be in your address book from five years ago. Some people will be but not all because we grow differently. You should not be on the same level spiritually as you were five years ago.

Manipulator Defined

A manipulator is a person who seeks to create an imbalance of power and take advantage of someone to gain power, control, benefits, and/or privileges at the expense of the victim. Manipulation is defined as any attempt to sway someones emotions to get them to act or feel a certain way.

Manipulators use the needs of others as leverage for ones agenda. They may even pretend to be kind and good, helpful and trustworthy while gaining the upper hand for ulterior motives.

Delilah was the queen of manipulation. She worked with spies to discover the secret of Samsons strength, which was his hair. Because this manipulator was relentless, she got what she wanted. Please note that although Samson fell by being in the hands of the manipulator, God prevailed. Let us look at the Word of God:

After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver. So Delilah said to Samson, Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.