The Spiritual Life: The Risks and Rewards of Relationships

The Spiritual Life: The Risks and Rewards of Relationships

There are risks and rewards to every relationship. One of the most common risks is to let human relationships define us rather than God. We focus on ourselves, engaging in a “one-upmanship” to better our self-esteem. But this is not the proper role for relationships. God is the one who defines us. Yes, He is all about relationships, but we must love Him above all others. Out of this love we can serve others. Otherwise, we run the risk of sowing relationships that are fruitless and unedifying. But in serving others out of Christlike love in our relationships, we can glorify God and point others to Him.

This teaching is part of a subseries on the spiritual life and is part 42 of the larger series, “Being, Knowing & Doing: How Godly Principles Strategically Affect Men’s Everyday Lives.”


Live in the area and want to join us?
See details here about the location and time of this study. 

Related Posts

Image of the crucified Christ

The Seven Last Words of Christ

These are the last recorded statements of Jesus Christ before His death on the cross. Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34) When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and

The Ocean of Eternity

Mortality and the purpose of life are prominent themes in Thomas Cole’s paintings. Through his paintings, he vividly brings out the human dilemma of mortality, a dilemma we ourselves must wrestle with. Given the inevitability of death, what are we to do with our days? We can try to stave

The Five Loves—and the Highest of These Is Agape Love

In the article below, Dr. Boa synthesizes material from several teaching sessions from his series Biblical Principles for Marriage and from portions of his spiritual formation text Conformed to His Image (primarily from chapter 18, “Holistic Spirituality”). Dr. Boa focuses on agape love as one of the five forms of loves (based on the different Greek words). After reviewing all forms, he gives reasons for why agape is the greatest.