Ep: 16 Guilty by Association

Welcome back to the show. Today’s episode, “Guilty by Association,” is all about the company you keep and how the people around you can quietly shape your choices, your mindset, and even your reputation. Whether we realize it or not, who we surround ourselves with can pull us forward or hold us back. So let’s get into what it really means to be influenced by your circle and why it might be time to take a closer look at who’s in yours.

Transcript

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What's up, my beautiful Soul Tribe? Welcome back to the Permission Activated Podcast. And I am your host, Coach Tai, here to support you and remind you that you don't need anybody's permission but your own to move forward and take the leap of faith because God has already called you and said, baby, go, go, go, go. It's time. So let's jump right into this word. Today's episode is going to be guilty by association. Welcome to 10 days of empowerment nuggets, and this is day one. Let's jump right into it. Now, some of you need to get the hell away from some of the people, situations, and circumstances that you are in and you around. Why? Because it is literally that very person, that very thing that is creating the hell in your life. And you are simply guilty by association. You could be a good person, have a good mindset, have the best intentions in the world, love everybody, just be a really kind person. But if you are associated with the wrong people, the wrong atmosphere, the wrong environment, baby, you are guilty by association. Now let me start off with a quick testimony of my own. Now, there have been situations and circumstances where God has literally told me, I am bringing judgment over this place, over this house, over these people. And if you are still connected to them, if you are still under the roof, if you are still in the vicinity, that judgment will fall on you too. Now, the judgment is not for you, but there is a scripture that says it rains on the just and the unjust, okay? It's gonna rain on everybody. So if judgment is coming, if consequences and repercussions is coming, if spiritual debt is coming to be collected, karma, whatever you believe it to be, baby, and if you are associated or in the vicinity or in the atmosphere, then guess what? It's going to hit you too. So this is why you wanna be very careful who you are around in this season, who you are connected to in this season, baby. Because when I tell you the spiritual debt is coming to collect, it is collecting, baby. So you want to make sure that you are on the right side of the fence. So make a decision. Don't be lukewarm, don't be double-minded. It's either a hard yes or a hard no. And some of these decisions, guys, are literally going to make or break you. They will either lead you down your path or take you off your path. They will either accelerate you and propel you or slow you down, stagnate you, hold you back, and put you in spiritual, emotional, and mental quicksand. Who am I talking to out there? I'm talking to somebody who felt like they've been slowed down, somebody who feels like they got holes in their boat and they're not understanding why they're not able to excel forward. Baby, it's because of the company that you are keeping. Now, listen, I understand it may be family and you may have a history with this person. Maybe it's a friend of 15, 10, 25 years, baby. It does not matter. Obedience will always be better than sacrifice. If God is saying release and let go, baby, you need to release and let go. This is how Saul lost the kingdom in the Bible. If you're familiar with the story of Saul, the kingdom was taken from him because he was sent on an assignment and he was partially obedient. God gave him very specific instructions. He said, I want you to destroy everything. And Saul took it upon himself to say, you know what, I'm gonna save this little bit here. I'm gonna put this aside here. No, that those weren't the instructions you were given. So if God is telling you, release that person, close the door, deadbolt it, lock it, and put an alarm system on it and don't ever open it again. I'm setting angels at the door, do not remove them, then baby, you better do what he's calling you to do because see, what you don't understand to see is what's coming a couple of weeks, a couple of months down the road. And so that's what God is always trying to prevent because he is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He sees your life five years down a road, five, six, seven months down a road, that the situation and circumstance of person is going to be a problem. So when he says no, baby, trust the no, believe the no, accept the no and walk in the no and just walk away. And I'm just telling you myself from experience, because see, back in the day, I used to be a hard-headed spiritual child. When God told me no, I'm like, oh, I want to know why he said no. Listen, I'm just keeping it all the way real. So if I can help somebody along the way, baby, let me take your hand and pull you out the mud, okay? Let's go, baby. Let's go. So now, because I have had to learn some lessons the hard way, when God says no, I don't question it. I don't care why he says no. If it's a no, it's a no, I'm walking away. Because I understand that the no, the rejection, whatever it is, the closed door, baby, it is protection. I want to remind somebody on today that that abandonment, that rejection, that no, that closed door, them lying to you, cheating on you, walking away was a blessing in disguise. You do not even understand. Some of you guys literally dodged spiritual machine gun bullets. A lot of you guys dodged bullets and you don't even know it. Like, literally, that would have killed your destiny, destroyed your destiny, taken you off course. So you gotta learn to trust the no. God only has your best interest in mind. That's a whole word for somebody. But getting back to the story at hand, you have got to be careful of the company you keep because you will be guilty by association. I'm telling you what I know. I have literally felt the wrath, the judgment, the consequences and repercussions coming over and on some people. I'm like, I gotta go. I gotta get the hell out of here because I literally can see and feel what's coming. The thing about it is, once God sets something in motion, nothing is gonna stop it. He's not gonna stop it because you're there. If he gave you forewarning and said, Hey, this is what I'm doing, this is what's coming. You need to leave now. Every situation and circumstance is gonna be different. But if God told you to release, let go, and go, then you baby, you better move, you get it, you better pack them bags and go. I'm trying to tell you what I know. So listen, I want to give you guys 10 key points, okay? I want you to write this down or save and download the podcast so you can go back and listen to it. 10 powerful points why you need to be careful of the company you keep and why you just need to release and move on if God is calling you to do that. Number one, everybody around you is either increasing or decreasing your value. People judge your circle before they judge your resume. If the people around you are chaotic, they're toxic, reckless, dishonest, lazy, bitter, liars, constantly in drama, eventually some of that smoke is going to land on you too. Because guess what? Association is advertisement. Now, let me tell you something. I want you to think about this visually because I'm a visual person. If you're a non-smoker, you don't smoke at all, but you walk into a room full of smokers, you walk into a cigar shop, or you walk into a room full of smokers, you're going to get smoke in your hair and your skin and on your clothes. Why? Because you're in that atmosphere. So when you come out, you're gonna be smelling like smoke, even though you didn't even smoke anything, guilty by association. Number two, you can be completely innocent and still suffer the consequences. This is what I was saying earlier. If God has given you a warning to remove yourself because something is coming down a pipeline, you better get out the way. Now, this is the hard truth, guys. I'm trying to tell you. You don't have to participate to get caught in a fallout. You could be in the wrong car, wrong place, wrong situation and circumstance, wrong room, wrong conversation, wrong energy. I'm trying to tell you, I know people who have almost died and lost their life because they were with the wrong people at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes wisdom isn't about being good, guys, it's about being far away from foolishness. There's another scripture that says if a person sees you arguing with a fool, they're gonna consider both of you guys fools because they're only looking from a distance. And so all they see is two fools. So again, perception is everything, even if what's being perceived is not the truth. Number three, pay attention to the patterns, not the potential. Okay, this is a word for somebody right here. Stop romanticizing people's good side. When a person shows you who they are the first time, baby, believe it, cash a check, take it to the bank. If someone consistently is lying to you, manipulating you, uses people, creates chaos, lacks accountability, please believe the pattern. Please believe the pattern. You cannot build peace around repeated dysfunction. That's a whole word for somebody right there. I love you. Number four, some people carry turmoil like an aura. Everywhere they go, it's confusion. Confusion just follows them. Drama follows them, broken relationships follow them, victim stories follow them. At some point, you have to stop calling it bad luck and take responsibility and accountability. Come on now. Who am I talking to? Because that energy will transfer and prolonged exposure will change you. You become a product of your environment. Whatever environment you're in, you are conditioning your brain to believe that that is normal. So if you're around toxic people, then guess what? Over a period of time, you are gonna normalize toxicity, you're not even going to realize it as being toxic behavior anymore because it's normal to you now. Number five, loyalty without discernment is self-destruction. Baby, I'm gonna say that again. Loyalty without discernment is self-destruction. Now, what do you mean by that, Coach Ty? Let's talk about it. Now, a lot of people will stay connected to people out of history, meaning it's family, it's an ex, it's an ex-spouse, it's a friend of 10, 15, 20 years. And then the excuses, but I've known them forever, but I have history with them. Okay, and and are they helping you or holding you back? Are they adding to you or taking away and slowing you down? Let me tell you, real loyalty includes truth, accountability, and growth. Period. Point blank. Number six, your environment quietly programs you. Guys, I cannot tell you this enough. Whatever you entertain, whatever you are investing in with your energy, your time, your attention, your essence, your love, that is what you are going to become. That is the return that you are going to get back into your life, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, whatever it may be. If everybody around you gossips, settles for less, cheats, avoids growth, normalizes dysfunction, baby, please run as fast as you possibly can. Because eventually your standards start lowering and lowering and lowering without you even noticing. And before you know it, you're at the bottom of the barrel and you're like, How did I get here? Because it's human nature for us to just naturally adapt to the people that we're around, the conversations that we're having in the environment that we're in. That's why your circle is so important. It matters. Number seven, you don't need a huge blow up to distance yourself. It doesn't have to be dramatic, guys. It doesn't have to be dramatic. And this is very important for you to understand. You don't need to have a fight, you don't need to be betrayed, you don't need to have a screaming match or arguing match, uh, I'm right match, a dramatic exit. It doesn't even have to be that serious. Sometimes spiritual, mental, and emotional maturity sounds like I love you, but I can't continue in this environment. I can't continue with this toxicity. I can't continue with you consistently pushing and trying to break my healthy boundaries. Quiet distance is still distance. Period. Number eight. Not everybody deserves access to the new version of you, baby. When you glow up and you level up, you better take them back. You better padlock some of them doors. You better come out of that spiritual graveyard of your past. Because some people only know how to relate to your pain, the old version of you, your brokenness, you not having healthy boundaries, your old habits, your low self-esteem, lack of confidence. Who am I talking to? When you evolve, certain connections naturally have to expire. They must expire because they're spoiled. And if you entertain spoiled stuff, you know what happens when you keep spoiled milk in your house. It's disgusting, it stinks, it smells, it has a foul odor. It's not cruelty, guys. It's alignment. It is divine alignment. It is you staying in alignment with God's will. Number nine, protecting your reputation is important. You should care about the integrity and alignment of people that you are associating with. Number 10, sometimes God removes people before they remove you from your purpose, baby. I'm going to say that again. Sometimes God will remove people that will literally take you out of your destiny, make you abort your destiny, make you forfeit your destiny, make you walk away from your destiny and your purpose simply because they don't have one. Come on now. Who am I talking to? So some separations are protection, some disconnections are redirection. Not everybody can go where you're headed. Period. Everybody can't breathe in thin air. Everybody does not have the strength or the capability to climb the mountain that God is calling you to climb. They were run out of air. They were run out of breath. They were run out of strength because they haven't done the work. And sometimes the greatest act of love, of self-love, guys, is saying, I refuse to drown because I was afraid to swim away. Come on now, baby. I want you to tell yourself over and over. I refuse to drown because I was afraid to swim away. For what I know wasn't serving me, what I know didn't respect me, what I know didn't value me, and what I know did not see me or hear me for who I truly am and who God has called me to be because they were spiritually blind and deaf. So be careful who you keep close. In closing, guys, everybody can't go with you into your next season. Some people are clearly assignments, and others are going to be your anchors that are going to shift, pivot, and propel you to your next level. So I want you to give yourself permission to let go. Give yourself permission to honor the truth in your life. If the truth is they disrespect you, they're a liar, they're consistently cheating on you, devaluing you, don't honor you, honor that truth and act on that truth. Give yourself permission to love yourself, give yourself permission to protect your inner child and give yourself permission to establish and build and connect with new like-minded, like-spirited people. If this episode resonated with you, I need you to download it. I need you to save it. I need you to send it to a friend because sharing is caring. And if you are feeling the vibe, follow and join the tribe. I would love to have you. I pray that this broke some chains and shackles off your mind, your heart, and your spirit. I love you guys so much. Thank you for hanging out with me. Stay tuned for more tie nuggets. See you in the next episode.