The Company We Keep and the Life That We Want

Proverbs 27:17, CEB – As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens a friend.       

Today I share the insights of Gordon MacDonald about the people we chose to spend time with.  Years ago, he wrote a book called Renewing Your Spiritual Passion where He classifies the five types of people with whom we spend time.  The following is an edited summary of the five types.

The Very Resourceful People (VRP’s): They ignite your spiritual passion. These are mentors, coaches, trusted advocates who inspire you and help you grow in your skill and wisdom. These people always make a positive contribution to your world.

The Very Important People (VIP’s): They share your spiritual passion. These are teammates, close friends, disciple-makers who labor alongside you. Together you stir one another up to faithful and fruitful living. “We do not spend large amounts of time trying to get along, or debating over whose philosophy will prevail, or determining who is in charge. We are bound together to get a task done, and get it done we will.”

The Very Trainable People (VTP’s): They catch your spiritual passion. These people want to grow and serve, and they have a teachable spirit that’s willing to learn. “We draw them to our side and open our lives to them. In the very sharing of ourselves we stir our own passion to serve and grow because we see the immediate effect it has upon them.”

The Very Nice People (VNP’s): They enjoy your spiritual passion. These people don’t want to share your life; they want to benefit from it. They are wonderful to be with and are often encouraging, but they are not always on the serving and growing edge. “Although the VNP’s may swell the ego with their applause and conditional loyalty, they exhaust the spirit through their desire to take what we have to give.”

The Very Draining People (VDP’s): They sap your spiritual passion. “I do not wish to write of VDP’s unkindly, but they exist in all of our worlds and must be carefully identified. Until we understand who they are and how they touch our lives, we will not fully understand why we experience weariness and passionlessness at times.” VDP’s need help, but people who help them have to have a balance of others who build passion to offset the passion being drained. 

Questions:  Who are the VRP’s, VIP’s, VTP’s, VNP’s, and the VDP’s in your life?  Do you have a balance between those who build your passion vs. those who drain it?

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, give us an awareness of the ways people build or take away our energy and passion.  Help us see our opportunity to add to others’ energy and passion by sharing the gifts with which are blessed.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for single parents that you know today.

Song:  The Wind Beneath My Wings – Marc André Fortin