Destruction, or Construction?

Reading of the Day 5/10/25: 2 Chronicles 21-23

2 Chronicles 22:4: Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.

In another post, we talked about influences & the importance of putting up protective barriers & boundaries against the enemy. It's the devil's plan to distance us from God, and the one thing that separates us from Him is sin! If the devil could use influencers (especially through social media) to draw us away from Him, he will! In the above Scripture, we see an example of yet another king who did evil in the sight of The Lord-it's a tough road to travel through these 2 books of Chronicles! King Ahaziah, relative of the wicked king Ahab, had a mother & cousellors who influenced him so negatively to the point of his destruction! It's one thing to receive some bad advice, but it's another to have constant bad influencers pour into your life daily...and sadly, in king Ahaziah's case, those of his own family. That's why we need to check our surroundings! There's a difference between welcoming helpful constructive criticism, or toxic negativity which only leads us farther away from God to our own destruction! Do we want to be built up, or torn down? Restored, or destroyed? This is why those walls we talked about are so important! To the enemy, it may be a gesture of offense...but to us, it's a much-needed protective wall against anything that could cause us to sin & be separated from God! We need healthy boundaries which politely & peacefully draw the line between us & unwise influences. We don't need to be rude, we just need to simply emphasize that we are setting limits on ourselves, not trying to judge anyone else. Our kind example may be the nicest, yet boldest way to show others a better way! We are not bound by what we choose to separate ourselves from-we are free! Free to be constructed into who God wants us to be, not destroyed by the devil's (or our flesh's) influence! To God be the glory always!