It is a fact of life that during your spiritual journey, you will lose friends and gain friends. As you grow closer to Christ, people will take notice. Some people will respond by seeking what you have in your life. Others will be turned off and become bitter and jealous. As Christians, our focus should not be on what other people think about us. The only person that we need to please is God. When seeking God, God-honoring people in our lives will become pleased, and those who fall short in their spiritual journey may become dissatisfied with us.
I have noticed that in my personal life, the closer I got to God, the more attention that I draw to myself. I sought none of the attention. Those who know me well, know that I am fully devoted to doing God's work. This title takes on many roles depending on the application presented to me. There are many hats to wear: husband, father, business owner, neighbor, friend and a whole lot of others as well. When you find yourself around nonbelievers and weak Christians, there are usually two things that happen.
Two different people.
First, when you are around non-believers, they notice something different about you. They notice something that is peaceful and something that is desirable. These people become curious as to what you have in your life that they don't. They want what you have and are willing to listen to you. You can share the gospel with them and show them how to be saved. This is the start of their spiritual journey.
Galatians 6:3 NASB “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Weak Christians are some of the hardest people to work with. They often become judgmental towards you and think they know what is best for you. When your spiritual journey surpasses theirs, they don't know how to handle it. You become a target in their minds because they want what you have. Instead of focusing on their spiritual journey, the want to tear yours down. Not only is this action not God-honoring, but it feeds into the destructiveness of Satan attacking believers.
Proverbs 16:5 NASB “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”
Does your spiritual journey continue to flourish?
Are you a fan of God or a God-follower? Only you can answer that question. It is important to self-reflect and measure your spiritual growth. If you find yourself stuck and not progressing in your connection with God, chances are you fell off the path of your spiritual journey. Frustration, bitterness, and anger are all signs of a failed spiritual walk. When you are always seeking the Lord in our works and prayer, you will not have these feelings toward your brothers and sisters in Christ.
When Satan start to take hold of your life, he begins to destruct you from the inside out. Becoming prideful is one of the biggest signs that you are moving your spiritual journey in the wrong direction. Seeing yourself as a success instead of God working in your life shows spiritual immaturity.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
Proverbs 8:13 NASB “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.
Bottom line is, you will lose friends along the way of your spiritual journey and you will be attacked. You will also grow new friends along the way. God will put people in your life that you can lead to him. He will also put people in your life who can mentor you. When you seek God's wisdom for all of your actions, he will watch over you and bless you. When you stray from the Lord, you let Satan take cheap shots at you.