Christian Relationships

Long before you and I were born God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2.18) He wasn’t talking about needing someone for housework or to work the fields. He was talking about our salvation. Since we are created in the image of God, Who is a community of love in the Holy Trinity, we are only truly human in relationship with others.

Brethren, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4.25-32

It is a mistake to think ‘just because’ we pray and fast and do many prostrations that we are good Christians. These tools of the Church are meant to train our hearts to better relationships with God and others. Of course, if we don’t care what our neighbors think, then we don’t care to have good relationships with them. That isn’t Christianity.

True, we can’t control what others think, but we can control what image of us we offer them. If we offer them selfishness and anger, their impression of us as hypocrites will be correct. If we offer them love and patience, and they still despise us, their image of our us will be correct, but their hearts will be angry.

The countless martyr saints in the calendar are proof enough that not everyone will have a positive reaction to our Christian life. But woe to us if our poor behavior drives them away from God. This is especially true in the Church.

The old saying ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ has never been truer than in Churches struggling to maintain Christian relationships. It isn’t for lack of trying I believe. That is only a part of the problem. The other part is the effort the devil puts in every day to set us against each other.

In today’s reading Saint Paul is reminding us that Christian relationships are not easy. The are worthy of effort because they bring grace from God. We have a chance each day before we retire for sleep to repair fractures in our relationships.

This is a new month and another new chance to ‘get it right’ with our relationships. I invite you to take to heart the advice from Saint Paul today, and stop giving the devil any opportunity to divide the Church and us from God. Rededicate your relationships with others, not just those in the Church, to be holy and worthy of God’s grace.