Every class of men and women suffer extensively in the same area....relationships. From Hollywood tabloids to any local newspaper's divorce column, people aren't getting along. The matter is epidemic. Basically, the church is of little help.
Understand that I know many relationships are great and that the church in places is a life-saver to families. What I am saying is one need not possess a microscope to find societal trouble in getting along to be of crisis proportion.
Interpersonal bonds are suffering. Families are indifferent, hateful, and stubborn toward one another and others day after day. Fracture has become a way of life.
What can be done about it? Men and women must learn to build a relationship with God that is both preeminent and dominant. Individuals cannot treat another individual well on their own. They must know God and have God to pull off any and every successful connection with another.
Francis Shaeffer wrote, If man tries to find everything in a man-woman or a friend-to-friend relationship, he destroys the very thing he wants and destroys the one he loves. He sucks them dry, he eats them up, and they as well as the relationship are destroyed. But as Christians we do not have to do that. Our sufficiency of relationship is in that which God made it to be, in the infinite-personal God, on the basis of the work of Christ in communication and love.
This could sound terribly trite...or smug. But if one really wants to know what cures the bulk of society's ailment, it would be good men and women leaning more on God than each other. If not, the trend of shatter and destroy will eclipse the pace now being endured.
An odd thing about considering an article like this is how quickly one can think of someone else who ought to read this....rather than ponder it at length for personal evaluation.
1 comment:
It is correct statement churches are little help. "The sad truth is that too little difference exists, in terms of emotional and relational maturity, between God's people inside the church and those outside who claim no relationship to Jesus Christ. Even more alarming … you often find a valley littered by broken and failed relationships"(Peter Scazzeroe). The divorce rate is as high for those in the church as outside the church (27% vs. 24%). There are over 300,000 churches in North America with average size 110-130. Pursuant to limited membership and attendance, many of these churches do not have the financial resources to establish and maintain effective on-going marriage, family, and relationships ministries. Churches would do well to invest in its body through classes and training. There must be a better equipping of the saints on relationships. Couples will not find it through counseling or self-help books and websites. There is a thirst for relationships. However, one can’t maintain a family relationship if their own isn’t right with God first. Therefore, somewhere teaching and training can be beneficial within the church.
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