At some point, you may have come across the warning to stay away from “energy vampires.” At first, you may find yourself covering your neck in fear of getting bitten. But in reality, you have nothing to fear. They aren’t referring to vampires with fangs (usually anyways!).
Instead, they are talking about the people that will literally suck the energy right out of you. You know what I am talking about too, don’t you? After a few hours around one of these so called “energy vampires” you feel depressed, drained, tired, cranky, and confused.
What Is an Energy Vampire Anyways?
The term energy vampire usually just means it is someone that sucks (hence the vampire part) the life, pizazz and energy straight from you! You can be in the most positive and happy mood of your life, but a few hours of hanging out with one of these people, and you are ready to scream.
Basically, it is just referring to “negative” people. Those cynics that think there is a catch to everything. Those that think everything is worthless, nothing will succeed, and everyone is set up for failure and doom. They hate life, they are usually bitter, depressed, angry, lonely, frustrated, and blame their problems on others.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Misery loves company?” It just simply means that miserable people want other people to be miserable so they can cry and whine about their problems together. This is the concept behind the dreaded “energy vampires.” It usually involves a person that is down on life. They are unhappy (it could be for multiple reasons), but they just overall are great people.
Because they feel like they have been burned in life, they try to share their negative “energy” with others. Basically, they try to convince you why life sucks, and that it will always be bad. They are always the ones that see the glass as half empty instead of half full. They always say words like: Can’t, won’t, I doubt it, etc.
What Does the Bible Say About Negativity or “Energy Vampires?”
Of course, the term “energy vampires” isn’t mentioned in the Bible. I am not sure when the phrase was coined, but the bible never mentions it. However, it does talk a little about our attitudes and how we are to behave our in our life. One thing is clear: God LOVES a positive attitude! Let me give you an example:
In Numbers Chapter 13, Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land of Canaan. They men went, and seen that the people of the land were much bigger than them. When they returned, 10 of them basically said, “No way Moses, we can’t take these guys!” It was a bad and negative report.
However, one of the men named Caleb said this: “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
The people that gave the negative report greatly distressed Moses and the congregation, but even worse–the disappointed God. For God was with them, and they didn’t believe in His power to help them win. Their negativity was punished, and God did not allow them to enter the land for several more years. However, to Caleb and Joshua who were willing to go and believed, God allowed them to enter this land.
God loves a positive, upbeat attitude. Even in the New Testament, we are told of the 7 fruits of the spirit of God:
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control
Do you see negativity, doubt, anger, or bitterness on that list? Of course not. God wants us to be positive! Obviously we can’t be happy go lucky all the time. If we have a bad day, or lose a loved one, we will be sad. But the key is to never let yourself remain down. Pick yourself back up, and get energized and positive again.
How to Deal with Energy Vampires or Negative People:
If you know someone that is an “energy vampire” or pessimist, then you need to be nice and loving to that person. Try to get them out of their bad moods. However, if you can’t get them to change, and they refuse to live by the fruit of the spirit above, then it may be a good idea to distance yourself from this person. Try to hang out with more positive people.
After all, you can’t help but pick up traits of those you spend time with. That is why it is so important to choose your friends carefully. You can see that example with Joshua. He was around Moses all the time, and after Moses passed, Joshua took over and led Israel into the promised land. He had acquired very good leadership skills by observing and learning from Moses. The same is true today. If we hang around negative, mean, or sinful people all the time, it is going to rub off on us!
I am not saying we shouldn’t help people, or spend time with negative people at all. But we should take care to guard ourselves against their negativity. Sometimes, the only way this can be done is by distancing yourself from these people.
Life is short. We are going to have enough hurt, and pain, and difficulties throughout our life. There is no need to live like that on a daily basis! Get high on God, and get high on life!
God gave us this one life to live. We need to make the most of it. We shouldn’t be negative, and bitter all day. We should be upbeat and positive. God has great things in store for us. The things he doesn’t do during our life on this Earth, he will fulfill in eternity.