"Relationship Keys: Personal Ties" Devotional by Kim Matthews
Transcript:
Everyone measures success and fulfillment differently; some people measure success by fulfillment, and others measure it by money. These are all personal values, and they are very important to relationships! Some people prefer accolades and accomplishments, while others value family and quality time. Do you know your personal values? Are they clear? A personal value is something that you hold dear. It can be something like faith, or prayer, or honesty. Does the person keep their word, are they trustworthy? These are all personal values. Any time a person violates or compromises their personal values, they experience self-defeat and open themselves up to being mistreated in a relationship.
Deal Breakers
Okay, so what about your deal breakers? These are things that you simply cannot tolerate, because they will consistently frustrate you in a relationship. Perhaps you can tolerate profanity, but lying is a deal breaker. Identifying and understanding your personal values and deal breakers will help you know which relationships to invest in. If you don't know these things, ask yourself what motivates you and brings out the best in you, then look for those things tin the relationships that you spend the most time in. Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will help you." This means that if you spend time with and trust the Lord, He puts desires and values in your heart that are good! Those desires and values then lead you into relationships that are directly in line with your purpose. From there, look for where your visions align. Maybe you're a lawyer, and your friend's a doctor, but you both like helping people. That, my friend, is a kingdom-building, destiny relationship. And since good friends are good to find, guard that relationship and invest in it with light and truth, because you, my friend, have been given a precious gift. God loves you, and so do I.