Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith March 2016 | Page 22

BEING YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS THAT GIVE GOD GLORY Christian Sonier , Educator by Alicia Berkeley In the end, relationships should give God glory. My prayer is that whoever reads this article has learned something and hopefully will be able to apply it to their everyday lives. Be blessed E phesians 4:2-3 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Healthy relationships are very important and absolutely vital to establishing a positive Christian culture. In order to help others grow in Christ, we must first learn how to establish relationships that are edifying to all involved. The key to establishing these relationships is understanding the characteristics involved in their creation. How are they formed and what do they encompass? Well for me, a healthy relationship first and foremost must have God at the head. There is not a relationship worth entering where God is not present. On many occasions, we get caught up in our own selfish desires and forget to seek God for the ordering of our steps esspecially with our relationships. What happens as a result is that we tend to find ourselves in situations that are unhealthy and not in accordance with God’s plan for our lives. A healthy relationship is supposed to help us to grow and mature not regress. In addition to placing God at the head, there must be a commitment to following his rules and regulations regarding relationships. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnerships have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever”? What this passage suggests is that you must have something in common in order to maintain a relationship that is healthy. Relationships will never be perfect or without discord, however, this is where being equally yoked comes to play. Although you may have different instances within your relationship where you may not see eye to eye, being equally yoked allows you to work through those differences. You may not have the same viewpoints on the particular issues at hand, yet, what you do share are the same visions and goals in regards to what direction you want your relationship to go. You may not have the same viewpoints on the particular issues at hand, yet, what you do share are the same visions and goals in regards to what direction you want your relationship to go. These parallels in vision allow you to work through your problems and handle your issues with integrity because you understand that due to the same common core beliefs, each of you wants what is best for each other and you are committed to doing what is necessary to make that commitment come to fruition.