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Be Relational

One of the great changes in cultural values of the last 20 years or so is the emphasis on relationships.  People with strong relational skills are in demand in many different fields.  Those who are weak in this area often find themselves somewhat sidelined.  

Until recently, Western culture was characterized by a hierarchical approach to relationships in which those who were “above,” or “in authority,” had the responsibility of socializing and informing those under them.  Interaction was not valued unless it served to enhance the status of those above.  Now, things are largely reversed.  We have student-centred classroom, child-centred parenting, and any business without a serious commitment to customer service will not last long.  This approach inverts the pyramid.  Those with power and authority are expected to use them for the benefit of others.

This is much closer to the way Jesus interacted with people.  He was highly relational and though He was divine, the Son of God, He treated people with dignity and respect for their personhood, even if their behaviour was reprehensible.  Even though His intellect towered over that of anyone he talked to, He encouraged them to think, to use logic, to come to conclusions.  Then, if they fell short in their reasoning or made erroneous judgments, Jesus would amplify or clarify as needed.

He showed respect for people by the way He related to them, engaging them in conversation.  Here are a few examples from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life.   In chapter 17 when dealing with the issue of paying taxes, He spoke to his disciple Simon Peter in this way: “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”

In the next chapter, He wants to underscore the importance of individual persons to God.  He encourages His audience to consider the idea by asking them, “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”  He then goes on to explain that just as a shepherd will go looking for one lost sheep, so God is not willing that any of those He loves be lost.

Finally, in Matthew 21 He again challenges those listening to Him to engage with the subject at hand with these words, “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.”  Then Jesus went on to tell the rest of the very pointed story which rebuked many of his listeners.

As we seek to be like Jesus, we will interact authentically with others, honouring them as persons made in the image of God in spite of the distortions that have come about as the result of sin whether perpetrated by them or on them.  We will care about what they think and do what we can to direct them to the One we want to be like.