RELATIONSHIP-PEOPLE
It is common
for a sinner to try to cover his wrongdoing by saying someone else "made
me act as I did." But regardless of
how one person mistreats another, he cannot cause sinful anger, ulcers, worry
in the one who is mistreated. Jesus
didn't get an ulcer on the cross; instead, He handled wrongdoing
righteously. That is to say, when He
prayed for those who were killing Him, He assumed His responsibility in the
relationship. And, in every
relationship, that is exactly what He calls on us to do.
As long as we
maintain meaningful face-to-face relationships, especially with fellow
Christians, then our electronic relationships will remain in a good and healthy
place. But if we interact with people
primarily through glass or some sort of technological screen - such as a
television or computer monitor - we shouldn't be surprised that our
relationships begin to seem distant, shallow, or artificial.
Don Whitney
Face to Face Fellowship, www.BiblicalSpirituality.org,
Used by Permission.
Our
relationship with our fellows and our relationship with God are so linked that
we cannot disturb one without disturbing the other. Everything that comes
between us and another, such as impatience, resentment or envy, comes between
us and God. These barriers are sometimes no more than veils – veils through
which we can still, to some extent, see. But if not removed immediately, they
thicken into blankets and then into brick walls, and
we are shut off from both God and our fellows, shut in to ourselves.
Roy Hession
The Calvary Road,
Christian Literature Crusade, 1950, p. 54. P.O. Box 1449, Fort Washington, PA
19034-8449. Used by Permission.
God seeks and
values the gifts we bring Him—gifts of praise, thanksgiving, service, and
material offerings. In all such giving at the altar we enter into the highest
experiences of fellowship. But the gift is acceptable to God in the measure to
which the one who offers it is in fellowship with Him in character and conduct;
and the test of this is in our relationships with our fellow men. We are thus
charged to postpone giving to God until right relationships are established
with others. Could the neglect of this be the explanation of the barrenness of
our worship? (Matt. 5:24)
G. Campbell Morgan
Christ was
despised on earth by men, and in his greatest need, amid insults, was abandoned
by those who knew him and by friends; and you dare to complain of anyone? Christ
had his adversaries and slanderers; and you wish to have everyone as friends
and benefactors? Whence will your patience win its crown if it has encountered
nothing of adversity?
Thomas a’ Kempis
The Imitation of Christ.
Only
when we are finding our ultimate satisfaction in God are we able to relate
rightly to one another.
Richard D. Phillips
and Sharon L. Phillips
Holding
Hands and Holding Hearts, P&R, 2006, p. 56. Used by Permission.
Your words
and the manner in which you speak are critical to harmonious
relationships. As you learn to speak the
truth in love, you must also determine when to speak, how to speak in an
edifying manner, and to whom you should speak.
The power of your words is enormous, and they also show the condition of
your heart. Even your idle words will be
accounted for in the day of judgment.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 13, Page
12, Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
If (God) is
on the throne of our hearts and in control of our lives – then all our human
relationships will be positively affected… Instead of looking to our
relationships for what we can take from others, we will begin to see
relationships in light of what we can give.
Finding our own deepest need met in our relationship with God, we will
be free to be used by Him to meet needs in others.
Eddie Rasnake
The Book of Ephesians, AMG Publishers, 2003,
p. 135.