No one is truly alone. Some people have many relatives and friends, others just a few. Occasionally, someone will have no real friends or family, but all of us interact with humans, and that over time, has proven to be dicey.

The health of our relationships is one of the biggest factors in how we function each day.

Turmoil and chaos at home or work, or both, puts us in emotional quicksand. On the other hand, healthy relationships in our lives improve our overall health and make us more productive.

In Genesis, God modeled right relationships for humans, and this model continues through the Bible right to the end in Revelation. From this, we see that our first priority in relationships is to be in fellowship with our Creator. Get that one right, and everything else flows. Following close behind is finding harmony in our human relationships, and getting this right is crucial to finding peace.

Ephesians 4:2–3 says, “Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Most people are familiar with the well-known Bible verses that deal with relationships, such as Paul’s wisdom from Ephesians, but Scripture is loaded with helpful and healing relationship commands. We hesitate to call it advice because God doesn’t really give advice. He tells us what is good for us and what may be harmful. For example, a fairly obscure passage in Job speaks to mean in any era having healthy relationships with women.

In Job 31:1 the suffering man says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.”

Wow. So simple, yet very important and profound.

That chapter goes on to say that God sees all that we do. He’s watching how we treat people. Job made it clear that a man can decide he’s going to treat women with respect. It isn’t complicated or beyond our reach.

So often, simply deciding to be a decent human being leads to waves of healing and peace of mind for everyone. Lots of books have been written about relationships, from marriage to raising children, but the best book of all has the best wisdom, and if you check that out, your relationships will thank you.

Let’s pray.

Father God, you've given us the gift of interacting with other people. Each is unique and created special. We ask that you send the Holy Spirit to guide our relationships so that they’re pleasing to you and to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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