We
may agree that building relationships is essential to the mission of
Christ and the evangelization of the world, but what are the barriers to
our building relationships? Jay
Dennis suggests these six “enemies” and I challenge authentic
followers of Christ to find ways to overcome them:
-
Past
hurts – Everyone has been hurt in a relationship before.
How will we overcome that hurt and risk getting involved with
others in a meaningful way?
-
Pride
– How often do you tell yourself that you will not make the
first move in relationship toward someone?
-
Prejudice
– There is a hidden enemy that creeps in to all of us that says,
“I’m not going to build a relationship with that person” for
whatever reason.
-
Guilt
– Perhaps you have said something or done something wrong
against a person and that holds you back.
-
Busyness
– We all have 24 hours in a day and need just a little bit more
time to build relationships. We make time for what is important to
us.
-
Selfishness
– If I am going to take the time to build relationships, I’ll
have to give up something else. Choices can be tough. We must
decide what is important and what is urgent.
So,
which enemy is holding you back?
