Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Who's in your inner circle?


Source: Google

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens a friend's character" Proverbs 27:17 (ISV) 

There is a common saying that goes "Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are"; I concur. Towards the end of last year, I was doing some reevaluation; because I wasn't content with the amount of progress that I had made in certain areas of my life. I was determined to make 2017 a HIT, a year to go down as one of my best!

After much prayer and meditation, I realized that I had to reconsider my inner cycle. I can count on one hand how many people I consider to be a friend. I was never one to flourish amongst a "clique" or "squad". So I kept my circle small intentionally. It pained me to have to reconsider certain relationships, I thought that I had figure this friendship thing out; I was proud to proclaim "no new friends". But I was absolutely mistaken!

When I began to sift my inner circle, I realized that some of my friend's bad habits were rubbing off on me. It was very subtle, but it was happening. I noticed that when I spoke to a particular friend, our conversations mostly involved gossip. Although I wasn't an active participate, I enabled her because I was always willing to listen. If someone talks to you about others, they will talk about you to others; I found this out the hard way. And this is when it hit me.

"Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."  1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

Although I did not find myself gossiping, I realized that my mindset about certain things began to change in a bad way. Your character is an offshoot of your mindset. So I had to protect my character and take a few steps back and setup boundaries.

I spoke to my mentor about what has transpired and she informed me to deal with the issue wisely. I wasn't supposed to cut her off completely; instead I had to transform our relationship from a horizontal one into a vertical one. It is often said that people come into our lives for reasons and seasons and we ought to recognize this in order to maximize these relationships.

Horizontal relationships are relationships in which each party is on the same level and can influence each other accordingly. Vertical relationships are relationships in which one party is on another level, as compared to the other party, and is in the position to positively influence that party (according to Bunmi's dictionary).

Your inner circle should be filled with horizontal relationships. It is only iron that can sharpen iron, wood cannot sharpen iron (in the words of my spiritual father). 

I have a particular vision for my life, as everyone should. And I want friends that can see this vision also; friends that will encourage me, pray for and with me, challenge me and correct me. So I had to rearrange my inner circle, because I wanted to make progress. The process wasn't easy but it was necessary.

What about you?


"YOU CAN NEVER GROW BEYOND YOUR INNER CIRCLE" 
-Bunmi Adebiyi

You are blessed!


- Bunmi



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4 comments:

  1. Awesome!!! It's a thought provoking article. Thanks Pastor. Greater Grace

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  2. Thank you so much for reading. Glad you enjoyed it! God bless you!

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  3. Indeed time for reevaluation! Awesome post.

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  4. Thank you so much for reading and for your comment!!

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