Vol. 17 No. 46 | November 17, 2014
Relationships! Whew! To say relationships are difficult to cultivate and maintain is a major understatement.
A significant portion of our lives are consumed with trying to create, understand and improve our relationships. We read books. We attend lectures and seminars. We ask friends for advice. We seek the wisdom of experienced. We lose sleep over relationships. We stress over relationships. We cry over broken relationships and we shed tears of joy when relationships mature and last for years.
Marriage relationships are difficult. Parent and child relationships stretch us to our limits. Friendships keep us perplexed. Spiritual relationships can be extremely disappointing due to our expectations that come from the fact that we are dealing with people of like faith and similar thinking.
Relationship gurus offer a variety of suggestions for improving our relationships. Better communication. Spend more time together. Spend better time together. For men: talk more. For women: talk less. For both: listen more and better. For parents: ask the right questions, ask questions in the right way, watch your tone when asking questions, and don’t ask too many questions.
In writing to a group of Christians who were dealing with some critical relationship matters that were threatening the spiritual harmony of the community, Paul offered simple but profound advice: “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.” (Philippians 2:5, The Message)
That’s easy, isn’t it? Just think about yourself the way Christ thought about himself. No problem.
Another version called it an attitude: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5, NASB)
Another calls it a mindset: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
The mindset, the attitude of thinking like Christ involves becoming a servant. The original language indicates it is the lowliest of the servants. To live like Jesus, to treat others like Jesus treated people, requires us to empty ourselves of our natural tendencies and replace them with the tendencies of God.
To be like Jesus we must replace our arrogance with humility. To be like Jesus we must practice a level of obedience and submission beyond anything that would come to us naturally. It requires an obedience that would enable us to give our very life should it come to that.
Here is how Paul described it:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)
Relationships! Whew! What do you do? Start here: Have the attitude of Jesus.
Tom
© Copyright 2014 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.