another relational crossroads we all face is when i choose to pretend or to be real.
the bible says in romans 12.9 (nlt) about this matter of getting into the game of relationships, don’t just pretend that you love others, really love them.
but pastor i might get hurt. can i tell you something? you will get hurt but it will be worth it.
ephesians 4.25 (the message paraphrase), what this adds up to then is this, no more lies, no more pretense. tell your neighbor the truth. in CHRIST’s body we’re all connected to each other. after all, when you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
you can't really grow until you quite pretending, you quit lying and start being honest.
another one that we’re all going to face throughout our lives when it comes to relationship and that’s the crossroads where i choose the shortcut or the long road. where i choose the easy way or the hard way.
relationships take a long road. ephesians 4.2 (tlb) says, be humble and gentle. be patient with each other, making allowance for each others faults because of your love.
relationships are messy. they don’t always work out the way you want them to work out, they always take more time that we expected and so because of that i’ve got to decide, “i’m going to give them the time to develop.”
remember all those one-minute books that were popular a few years back? one minute manager and i think there was a one minute parent and a one minute marriage and one minute relationships. you can’t really do a relationship in one minute.
a lot of people read that and think, “great! one minute a day and i’m going to have a great relationship.” folks, it’s built minute upon minute upon minute. you cannot fit a growing relationship, a better relationship into a palm pilot. you can try but it doesn’t work. you can write down “7:00 – 7:15, quality time with my kids.” but what happens if they’re a little bit late. then you’re angry and there goes the quality time. what happens if they don’t fit in with your schedule?
you can write in 9:00-9:45 fight with my wife”. no, you can’t schedule a fight. they just sort of happen in life. that’s the way relationships work. you can’t schedule them.
the truth of the matter is because relationships don’t always work out like we want them to, many times they just wreck our schedules, they tear our schedules apart. and i’ve got to decide am i going to take the short cut and try and make this easy and try to get through it quick? or am i willing to take the long road with someone even when life is tough?
just a thought from the front porch…
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