If you have a good relationship with God, it will naturally flow that you will have a good relationship with other people around you whether they do not like you are anything that you do not expect. Being into many relationships – work, family, friendship, marriage – there will be always disagreements and misunderstanding. I knew it, because I have experienced it. Despite of that, as a Christian, you are always looking forward for the best of someone, to keep the relationship in good state, because, we profess the love of Christ at heart. In any situation wherein you have so much differences – attitude, lifestyle, beliefs, etc. – we can always maintain the good relationship with someone else. We must yearn to be in a good relationship wherein there is always respect, encouragement, help each other and never give up.
Are we having relationship with someone right now? If we are going to evaluate ourselves how we respond or react to our relationship now, are we in the right attitude and state of life wherein we are not tearing down someone?
Below are some of the things that we know for sure if we are into a good relationship –any relationship - and a person as we are.
1. Do we encourage someone? Our relationship with someone must be of good encouragement to him or her. We cannot deny that in life we always have discouragement. We got discourage because are weak and sometimes we need someone to push us to continue with our lives and do the best as we can. Ask yourself, “Am I an encouragement for someone?”.
2. Do we motivate someone? Are we a good influence for someone to do better in life? Do we inspire someone to do what is good and what is right? Does someone become enthusiastic in her/his life because of you? Ask yourself about this.
3. Are someone can count on you? Be a good comfort for someone in need, specially emotionally spiritually. A good relationship will always comfort us./ Giving assurance and helping us to feel better is someone needs more than material things. Do you say,”You can count on me.” I am praying for you? Ask yourself about these things.
4. Are you energizing someone when they talk to you? A good relationship or a true friend will always energize someone to do things to its best. We help strengthen someone’s life to do greatest he can be because we give vigor when he or she sees us. Are you a friend who energize someone?
5. Do you defend someone when he or she is being mistreated? Are you genuine friend who will standby him or her despite the odds in life? Or are you the person who will leave someone when the life flows bad? When problems drifts from right and left, back and front, are you still there to be with him or her? A good relationship will always defend a friend when the life is full of sadness and difficulties. Are you this kind of person?
6. Do you value your friendship? Do you love someone as a Christian who will there for you no matter what happened? As God loves us, do you love also who God loves too? This must need to think.
7. Do you accept someone unconditionally despite of the negative things about him or her? Do you change because you found our something wrong about a person and try to go away from her or him? Or do you wish to talk about things and try to help someone change to be a better one? For me, I really do not change attitude when I knew someone bad things. Why? Because I cannot judge and we must not judge. Judge not and we shall not be judged as the Bible says. IF there is something bad about the person, we must help someone by prayer that God will change his or her life and be fruitful.
8. Are you patient with someone? A good relationship always be patient. Be patient to make things okay and good. Be patient to understand things and not to make judgement and conclusion and decision right away. A good relationship will always enduring and persistent to be a noble and worthy. Are you patient?
9. Do you serve someone? A good relationship – any relationship is serving. If you serve others, the love and joy goes into your heart which you cannot fathom which comes from within. The more you give, the more you are happy. That is the mystery of helping.
10. Do you have unforgiving spirit? A good relationship forgives. Unforgiving spirit is damaging emotion. IT will affects emotionally, physically and mentally even spiritually. Have a forgiving spirit.
11. Do you confront someone when he or she is heading to the wrong direction? When your friend is heading to a place where there is a snake that coils and almost beaten by it, will you not warn him or her to not to pursue or continue because of the danger? How many times you caution someone because you really care for him or her? Are you a caring person to your friends? It is hard to say STOP but you can save a lifetime for telling someone because you really care.
12. Kindness is attractive attribute a person can give. Are you kind to someone whom you met? Kindhearted person are what we need. Someone who has compassion for us to really care about us. Do you show kindness?
13. Do you trust God and have the courage to obey His will? Is your relationship headed to the wrong direction? Do you obey what God says and what he wants or we are just making things and decisions based on our knowledge and understanding. Sometimes, truth hurts, just like medicine or injection, but it can cure us. Trust God in all you do and we will never lose if we choose to.
Proverbs 17:17 states that, “A friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity.