One thing that is a common need for every human being, is the desire to belong. Every person, irrespective of what they believe, wants to feel connected. Relationships are at the core of that need. Now we know that social media in the last decade has promoted the narrative that we are all more connected that ever; but is that really the case? From our recent Need Prayer run, we found that people are more isolated than ever. Perhaps, we need to do an “MOT” on our relationships. How are your relationships? How are your friendships? How is your marriage?

Truth is, healthy relationships don’t just happen, they take work. You have to be intentional in order to get results. Actually, from discussion, we found  that the following are a few of the things which prevent us from having healthy relationships;

Unforgiveness

The fact is nobody’s perfect, we all make mistakes and if we hope to have relationships with perfect people, well, we are going to be grossly disappointed. To avoid such disappointment, we have to accept that people are flawed and when they hurt us intentionally or unintentionally we need to drop it quickly and move on. Don’t allow the hurt to form us. Failure to do so, results in unforgiveness and unforgiveness leads to bitterness; and bitterness eventually affects all of our relationships because it becomes the lens for which we see things.

Pride

Come on, we have all been there, in that situation where we were blatantly wrong but didn’t say we were sorry. Following on from point one, when we set ourselves free from the premise that perfection exists, it invites us to heal from our own mistakes and say sorry. Isn’t it funny how many relationships would have been salvaged if we put our pride aside and said sorry.

Jealousy

This is an important one, you can have a relationship with someone you secretly want to be. Often times, we spend a lot of time wanting other people’s lives, careers or success that we can’t have an honest relationship with them. We’re not whole heartedly rooting for them, because we want our own. This affects the overall relationship. A way to get a round that, is to build a better relationship with yourself, from which everything else will flow.

So, we ask you today…how are your relationships?