Tuesday, March 16, 2010

RELATIONSHIPS

 Peniel Rwendeire
THE FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES OF A SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIP
    Each of us desires to start a relationship that we feel it can take us some where, one that has value and purpose. One of the greatest learning of my life is that if you want to make a new contribution you have to make a whole new preparation. Many people don’t realise that relationship is all about contributing. Therefore what you contribute is what either breaks or sustains a relationship.


 You may be there and at one point in your life  there is a  couple that  you really admire the  way they couple live their Christian love life and  you also feel oh I wish my  marriage to be like that. But you may not know what really makes them to be admired by you.
The good news is that building a sustainable relationship calls for a new mindset, a new tool set (word of God) a new skill set and above all a new habit. It may sound like a challenge and also so complicated but we as Christians need to look to Jesus because  he said  that I will send you a helper who will teach you everything (John 14:26) So we have the confidence that the holy spirit is our best teacher, counsellor  and a friend who can teach us every thing that is important in our lives .
Now lets look at the four principles that sustain a relationship these are not all that build a relationship but they are the basic


Love

Love is a doing word, love is a verb; love is not excitement over some body but appreciation of the person basing on who the way he or she is and a desire to influence if necessary for a positive change. Human beings are made of the body, mind, heart and spirit. Therefore true love focuses on the whole complete human being not just loving one or two parts of somebody.  


The mind  
  • Do I love the way you think?
  • Do I love your ideas and am I happy with them?
  • Do I love the things that you value and those that take your time? 
The heart  
  • Do I love the way you feel about situations?
  • Do I love the things you are passionate about?
  • Do I love the things that drive your life?
  • Do I love your characters?
The body
  • Do I feel proud of you in public?
  • Do I love your body?
  • Am I generally contented with your physical appearance?
The spirit
  • This looks at your faith
  • Am I proud of your spiritual life?
  • Am I ready to face the reality?
  • Am I ready to make a contribution to your spiritual life?
Trust

This comes from trustworthiness and trustworthiness comes as a result of character and competence and the fruit of all this is wisdom and sound judgement.

Understanding
Understanding is so broad especially when it comes to relationships because it involves understanding your self first before you understand the other partner.  Understanding focuses on who and what you are because what you come with in a relationship can either break or build it. It’s a bit challenging when the partner you are relating with is from a different culture or even a foreign land like a European getting married to an African.  These are typically from different background and such relationships require thorough understanding of each other. For that reason you can look at issues like;
· Character
  • Values and interests
  • What is the source of his/her love 
The fruit of understanding is not choosing to do things my way or your way but a third way that is better than either for the two of us. This is the fruit of respecting, valuing and even celebrating one another’s differences. Its about solving problems seizing opportunities and working our differences 
 An Understanding relationship is a complementary relationship where the strength of one compensates the weaknesses of the other. 

Respect
Respect may sound normal and easy to go about but in many times some partners do something that may not reflect the element of respect. When the other partner you are relating with does not feel respected, he or she may end up loosing interest in this relationship. It’s like doing a job that does not give you a sense of self actualisation or self esteem. Respect is reflected in the individual first and then in the other partner therefore respect begins with you. How you talk, what you and how you do what you do in the presence or absence of your partner reflects the degree of respect, even dressing code is considered.


In wrapping up, brethrens let us believe God for divine wisdom and understanding and let us look at the word of God because it’s the best instruction or guiding manual to a Christian the bible looks at all aspects of life and trust me, pray for the will of God to be manifested in our relationship.
By Peniel Rwendeire

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