Author Robert Tew once wrote, “Don’t let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out.” And he’s right; his modern proverb expresses well the way Jesus and other biblical exemplars such as Nehemiah treated toxic people. Thus, the first installment of this series focused briefly on the [ Read More ]
Does somebody in your life continually and intentionally distract you from who you need to be and what you need to do? Can you identify people who—whether in-person or on social media—seem to enjoy pestering you, guilt-tripping you, and manipulating your emotions. If so, you might be dealing with a toxic person (TP)—a person who [ Read More ]
One of life’s greatest challenges is learning to deal with people who are draining, unsupportive, difficult, and adversarial; with people who are bent on systematically diminishing and finally destroying your inner life. In this series of posts, I will talk about how to identify and respond to the words and actions of such toxic persons. [ Read More ]
How many philosophers does it take to explain a joke? Quite a few, as it turns out. And not only philosophers. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists have exerted themselves to explain exactly what makes people laugh. Although everybody understands intuitively what humor is, the concept of humor is still elusive, being difficult to define in a [ Read More ]
Recently, I published a series of three articles on how to spot manipulation and stop it dead in its tracks. I explained how manipulation works, gave advice on how to spot it and stop it dead in its tracks. The first article dealt with interpersonal manipulation, revealing 12 ways manipulators attempt to control their target [ Read More ]
In any sphere of culture, leaders are trying to sell themselves and their views. In fact, the very reason these leaders often rise to the top is their ability to persuade people of the rightness of their views and decisions. Yet, often these leaders are so charismatic and persuasive that we are easily duped by [ Read More ]
There are two sides to every news story. The one that your favorite media outlet prefers, and the other side, which is the one that they will mislead you about. Or, so it often turns out. This is unfortunate. Media institutions play an outsized role in the life and health of communities and nations, and [ Read More ]
Recently, I published a series of articles on the personal, social, and political implications of the Bible’s Ten Commandments. The article on the eighth commandment—the prohibition against theft—included a small section on “manipulation” as a form of heart theft. This portion of the article triggered a number of inquiries, which has prompted me to follow [ Read More ]
During the past few weeks, I published a series of 14 brief articles, applying the Bible’s Ten Commandments to personal, social, and cultural issues in the United States of America. The series is entitled, “Ten Words for a Broken Society.” It begins with three introductory posts, continues with ten articles addressing the Ten Commandments respectively, [ Read More ]
God spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel after rescuing them from slavery in Egypt. Yet, these Ten Words apply not only to Ancient Near Eastern Israel but also to God’s people today and even to those people who are not “his” in the sense that they have not embraced God through Christ Jesus. God’s ten [ Read More ]