Dealing with Toxic People – 4

16/10/2025 3 min

Listen "Dealing with Toxic People – 4"

Episode Synopsis

For many years, I’ve been sharing the privilege and importance you have as a Christian in the marketplace to let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven, as Jesus told us in Matthew 5:16. In all those years, one issue surfaces most frequently—dealing with people. As Charlie Brown said, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand!” I’m examining dealing with people who are particularly toxic, spreading their poison where you work.
You must intentionally purpose not to let toxic people occupy any more of your thought life than absolutely necessary. Here’s another practical suggestion:

Distance yourself from them as much as possible.

You’ve heard a lot about setting boundaries, I’m sure. The Bible teaches us to set boundaries. For example, these two passages from Proverbs:
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way (Proverbs 4:14-15).
The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives (Proverbs 16:17).
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
You must be wise about distancing yourself from people who would fill your mind with evil and try to bring you down emotionally. You may not be able to distance yourself from a toxic person physically, if they are a coworker, but you can learn to distance yourself mentally and emotionally. Pray each day that God will protect your mind and teach you how to literally tune them out when you can. If you can wear headphones where you work use them as a buffer between you and a toxic person. Even if you don’t listen to anything, just wearing headphones creates some distance.
You have two options: You can gripe and complain about them, letting them bring you down to their level, or you can determine by God’s grace, to take whatever steps are necessary to respond appropriately and in Christ-like ways to toxic, difficult people. God loves them as much as he loves you, and no one is in your life by accident.