Bible Verse of the Day Monday July 10th ,2023

Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Humans tend to take on the stances and manners of the people they spend the most time with. The Apostle Paul recorded in His letter to the Christians in Rome: “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts to make you strong. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:11-12).

There are two categories of people in any subset of humans. For this illustration, we will call them contaminators and decontaminators. The contaminators are like chimneys; they are constantly pumping out filthy smoke. The last thing they want to see is clear sailing. No matter how great the situation becomes, they will always find a way to create gloom and doom. When the folks in their group breathe in the filthy smoke they fill the air with, they become sicker and sicker. The decontaminators, on the other hand, make their surroundings better. No matter how polluted the contaminators make the air, they clear the atmosphere and create clean and pure surroundings. The decontaminators take in the toxic language and deeds of the contaminators just as all people in their surroundings, except they run the toxic words through a spiritual filter before passing them on to the world around them.

The question before us today is: Are we contaminators or decontaminators? When we spend time with folks in our lives, do they walk away from us feeling clear and clean, or do they experience some form of spiritual toxic contamination? Do we clear the air of the folks we encounter, or do they leave us with a bad taste in their mouths? Be conscious of how people react when they walk away from us, and we can tell which group we are a member of.

Skeptics always get what they expect from any encounter, as do believers. Seeking the best that God has to give at any time and in every situation is not only spiritual and biblical, but it will help us see the needs of the person or people we are communicating with. When we strive to see people through the eyes of God, they will be drawn to us and open to what we have to say. This action is critical in evangelism because our approach and manner will connect with them long before our words reach their ears and more importantly their hearts.