From the beginning, God said: “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Gen. 2:18). We were made for relationship – with him, with family, with one another. Relationships are not optional decorations in life; they are the very fabric of it.
And yet, how easily we treat people as means to an end. Do we network when there is something to gain? Do we befriend only there are benefits? Do we love only when it is convenient?
When we use people, we wound the heart of God, because every person bears his image. To take people for granted is to despise the gift he gave when he knit us into community.
Scripture reminds us: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). That means we do not mess with relationships by playing with trust, breaking promises casually, or withdrawing affection when it no longer serves us.
Instead, we honour them. We commit to honesty, even when it costs. We forgive, even when it hurts (it always hurt, does it not?) We invest in others not for what we get back, but because love was first given to us.
Relationships are precious. Let’s handle them with reverence.
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