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Have you ever worked with someone who was always totally negative? If ever there was a toxic personality type, it is the person who never sees anything good in anyone or anything. How are we supposed to deal with the really negative co-worker?
Well first, you will have to pray for the desire and the power to put on compassion toward that person. It will have to be God working in you to make you want to be kind to them and have compassion on them, but that is certainly important.
Some kind words spoken to that negative person might be the key to getting him or her to get past that negativity and become more positive. However, consider this verse as given to us by wise Solomon:
Proverbs 23:9:
Do not speak to fool, for he will scorn your prudent words.
There are people who are committed to being negative, and nothing is going to move them from that position. To try to change them is futile and indeed that person will treat you with scorn. So, there are times that you cannot have a positive effect on a negative person, regardless of how kind your words may be or how good your motives are.
Whatever you do, don’t allow that negative person to drag you down to negative territory. Change the subject, walk away if possible, avoid the negative person where you can, but don’t catch their toxic disease!
As we examine our relationships with difficult people, we have to recognize that the problem may not always be the other person’s. There are times that we Christians can be lazy, arrogant, domineering, vindictive, and/or negative. It would do us all good to take a close look at each of these and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us if we’re guilty of any of these difficult characteristics in our relationships with our co-workers.
First Peter 2:12 reminds us to:
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Remember: this chapter on dealing with difficult people from my Bible study, Improving Your Relationships, is available for you.
Please click here to download your free chapter.
(Click here if you would like to read the entire week’s message.)