The True Cost of Jealousy #3

One of the greatest costs of jealousy – to ourselves, to those around us, to any environment we find ourselves in – is that it keeps us from fully celebrating other people. This cannot be overstated in terms of its impact on the culture of our relationships and interactions; how it influences the tone of our families, our workplaces and our faith communities.

Rom 12:15 says “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

I think we often find the mourning easier to do – we can empathise and sympathise and connect with others in their place of grief and loss. But something of the jealousy response in us prevents us from fully celebrating other people and their experiences of success or joy. Continue reading

AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU – #6 Grow in Persistence

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Rom 12:18)

When using this text as a guide for how to do relationships well, it is too easy to use those first four words as our escape clause … “if it is possible”.

There are many broken or unhealthy relationships that we are very quick to write off as impossible. Things have gone sour, friendships have become untenable, families have become dysfunctional because “it’s just not possible” to make them work. Sound familiar? Continue reading