Bad Company Corrupts Good Character: You are who you hang around

As a little girl I always wanted to be liked. I always wanted to be with my friends. I followed the crowd and adapted well. My original personality is meek, mild mannered, quiet, kind hearted and compassionate. This person didn't always show up. She was hidden at times. My character was compromised a lot growing up even to my adult years. Most people that connected themselves to me were strong willed controlling people and I followed very well. I was always a follower growing up. My mother was a drug addict and my siblings were in foster care. I felt alone. My grandmother raised me with very good morals but I always wanted to belong somewhere. I always was who people wanted me to be instead of who I really was. Finally I found myself about 30 yrs old with no idea of who I really was and why was I even here. I had spent a life of trying to please everyone but myself. I felt void, empty and lost until one day my friend invited me to church after I poured out my feelings to her. This is when God pulled me away from everything and began to illuminate my true self. He showed me that he created me to be a leader and not a follower. He showed me that he created me to be strong and not weak. He showed me that he didn't create me to live in lack and uncertainty. 
From years of being connected to the wrong people my character was shattered, not just to the world but to myself. I had no idea who I truly was. When God pulled me from the world's influence and put me in the midst of his people, my character was on the road to reconstruction. I stopped drinking. I was never a big drinker because I can't tolerate much but I did drink at times. I also dabbed in weed some and I stopped that. I couldn't really tolerate that either. I was a what you call a light weight😂. I stopped going to clubs and parties. I was in church at least 4 days a week. I was at prayer on Mondays, Bible Study on Wednesday, Choir rehearsal on Thursday, Kids rehearsal Saturday and church on Sunday and I loved it. The company I kept was totally different. They wasn't perfect but we were all trying to live a life pleasing to God. We were having clean fun now with no consequences. I begin to learn how God wanted me to live as oppose to how I actually was living. 

Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I'd spent a lifetime of reaping from bad decisions I made. I was in debt because of poor money management. I can't tell you how many times my phone was cut off. I always owed more on my rent. I was basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. God dealt with my husband and I in this area. We paid off our credit cards. We paid off every bill we owed. We stopped spending mindlessly. All our bills were now current. This wasn't easy. I went about a year of not getting my hair professionally done. I had to do my own hair which I really don't like to do:) There was no manicures and pedicures. We didn't eat out often. We bought groceries and cooked our meals. We also had to work on being to our jobs on time, no calling off unless for emergencies. We became responsible adults.

Forsaking Relationships

Proverbs 9:6
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

The funny thing is when God begins to bring you into the light your relationships begin to fade. Usually people feel that you're different, you think you're better than them or you're acting funny or weird. This causes people to pull away from you because you are no longer living like them. They can usually see your change before you see it. Notice the scripture above says Forsake the foolish and live, You can't really start living until you let go of foolish things because they keep you in bondage. It's like chains are on you and you can't break free when you are in the counsel of the ungodly. God had to pull me from among them to show me my purpose, to give me a life and that more abundantly. I don't know where I would be today if I'd not excepted that invitation to church. Now I surround myself with people who are going or have gone where I'm going. I don't compromise my character nor do I put myself in situations that would cause for it. My life is peaceful. I'm not skirting the mountain year after year with the same problems like I once was. 

This Doesn't Mean you Can't Have Friends

The Bible says Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." emphasis on Bad Company, God wants us to have righteous people in our circle. God wants people around that will edify you and not pull you down with them. If you are going through a tough time check your surroundings. If you continue to have lack and stay stagnant check your surroundings. It's not wise to get counsel from people that haven't been where you're trying to go. Why would I ask a nurse how to become a teacher? Why would I ask a drug addict how to kick the habit? Why would I ask an irresponsible person how to be responsible? I shouldn't because they will only pull me down because they are still living in error. Therefore I would have to change my group of people I surround myself with. Proverbs 13:20

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Wise people help to enhance your character, The foolish helps to corrupt your character.

You are blessed when you allow God to pull you from among people that are not good for you. The best way to do this is to build your relationship with God by reading your word and talking to him. Instead of drinking when you are stressed call him, instead of calling that person who means you no good, call God. Tell him your feelings, he won't make fun of you. He doesn't think you're stupid for dealing with that guy who really doesn't love you. God knows the hurt and pain you have and wants to relieve it. He wants you to be successful, peaceful, joyful, and filled with love from him. Forsake the bad relationships in your life today and begin to see what life God intended for you. Be blessed. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section. I would love to talk with you.

Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice: Don't give up your blessings for temporary pleasures

Every morning I give my students a "Writing of the Day" assignment for Bell work. I'm a 5th grade teacher for those who don't know. The writing assignment is always something to edify them as an individual. This is the time I take to teach Character Building. About 2 weeks ago I wrote about "Obedience is better than Sacrifice". When I first read this in scripture I was confused on what it really meant. I was confused because in the old testement they gave sacrifices for forgiveness of their sin. So why would God say this? I thought. Then I had a 💡moment :) God showed me that we sacrifice so many blessings because of our disobedience to him. There are numerous times in scripture when God gave instructions on what to do and after he explained the blessing of following the commandment. Usually the person receiving the instruction would start off right but then begin to think on their own and stir themselves to destruction. 
This is exactly what happened in 1Samuel 15th chapter. God gave Saul instructions and he decided to put his twist to what God had commanded him. 

1 Samuel 15:20-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” We can see in this scripture that Saul thought that he had obeyed God's command. He felt it didn't hurt to let the people bring some sheep and oxen back. They was bringing it back to give to God. That's not bad right? Wrong! Neither did it hurt to allow the King of Amalek to live so why murder him? The answer is because GOD SAID SO! God gave Saul 2 instructions: 1.Go and destroy the sinners the Amalekites and all that they have, don't spare any humans or any animals period.  2. Fight against them until they are consumed.

The underlined portion Saul didn't obey. Saul listened to the people and allowed them to do what God instructed them not to do. This caused God to reject him because he rejected God's instructions. Saul lost his Kingship because God regretted choosing him for this position. In addition, God allowed an evil spirit to torment him which ultimately made way for David to replace him as king.  

We Often Make the Same Choices

We endure so many hardships because our decision not to obey God which is ultimately rejecting him. We have sickness that comes from the way we eat. God shows us in the Bible the best way to eat but we sacrifice our health for pleasure. When the reaping time comes from how we treated our body we want to call on God for healing. We believe him for healing but we don't trust him when he gives us the instruction to bypass illness. I'll be the first to raise my hand in this scenario. Women are treated badly by men because they sacrifice Godly happiness and peace for sexual pleasures. Raising my hand again. I went through so much pain in relationships because I didn't want to wait for God. I chose men that God didn't. When I finally did get with the man God chose we both had to be broken down and rebuilt. We both had chosen things and went through situations that caused us not to be the man and woman God called us to be. We had to be sent back to the manufacture, get refurbished and sent back out. This blog would go on and on if I shared with you all the times I rejected God's way for my way, society way, family way, etc. 

 Now this is my prayer. I learned from my bad decisions. There was no one to blame but me. I put myself in the situations not God. I surrendered my will unto his and saw what his purpose was for me. I realized that he was my creator. He created me for a reason and he had a good life laid out for me before I decided to go my way. I'm so thankful for his grace and mercy. I'm also over the moon estatic that Jesus died for my sins because I never want to be completely cut off from the father. When we rebel against God, he sees it as witchcraft. When we are stiffnecked (stubborn) he sees it as iniquity (living in our sin) and idolatry (putting something in place of him). He throws his hands up and says " You know best so I give you over to your depravity". He allows us to live the way we choose. I'm grateful I realized I was his workmanship and not my own. I'm grateful that I realized he knows what's best for my life. I'm grateful that I realized he had plans for me to have success and a future in him. Now I'm not just living but I'm purposefully living. 

If this is you please stop now and turn to God. If you find yourself failing in many areas of your life, STOP NOW! If you find yourself going through the same situations over and over again, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling worthless with no purpose for living, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling sadness more that happiness, STOP NOW! If you feel whatever you do there is no peace or joy in your life, STOP NOW! We bypass so many DO NOT ENTER signs and try it anyway. Please don't bypass this one. Turn back to God and allow him to lead your life. The Bible says seek the Kingdom of Heaven and everything else will be added to you. He will give you the desires of your heart (that line up with him of course😊). I know this through experience. I've seen so many changes in my husband and I after surrendering to God. Our relationship was a daily struggle filled with mental abuse and unhappiness. Now we look forward to seeing eachother everyday. He is my bestie❤ We enjoy each others company, he keeps a smile on my face. This is not because of me or him but because we surrendered and allowed God to fix what we couldn't. I went from working at Coney Island restaurant to having a Masters in Education and being a certified teacher. I look forward to whatever else God has planned for me. This is not because I'm smart or strong but because I stopped trying to make a purpose for living and allowed God to show me my original purpose that I was created for. God is waiting on you to come to him. He loves you so much. Matter of fact it is his pleasure to lead you into life of righteousness which brings happiness. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments. I would love to converse with you and share my testimony😊