How can I avoid being used by others? - Using Others/Feeling Used - TouchPoints

Proverbs 23:1-3While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.

Isaiah 39:1-2Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered. Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Ezekiel 45:9-12“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land. Stop expelling them from their homes, says the Sovereign Lord. Use only honest weights and scales and honest measures, both dry and liquid.”

Jude 1:16These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.

It’s not healthy to go through life distrusting everyone; but it’s also not healthy to allow ourselves to be duped by deception and flattery. One of the keys to godly living is having enough discernment to know who we can trust and who we can’t. When we have determined we can trust someone, we must take the “risk” of enjoying and counting on that trust. But when we are not sure we can trust someone, we must be careful not to risk trust until it has been earned. God supplies courage and wisdom to help us see through and stand up to those who wish to take advantage of us.