The frustration that we feel so often is a result of personal failure. We didn’t live up to our own expectations. We didn’t behave as we know we ought to behave. And that failure often is taken out on those that we love the most. Our spouse. Our children. Someone close. And they feel it. Rarely, is the hurt verbalized. But that does not diminish the reality nor the intensity of that emotion. We do not feel satisfied in our relationships because so often they are truly a reflection of our personal failures. And who really wants to stare their failures in the face all the time? So then…how do we overcome this? First of all, by treating every relationship as important. And intentionally creating stronger ties in each. It all starts with our relationship with God. If our walk with God is weak, it is undeniably true that our horizontal relationships can only be as strong as our vertical relationship. When we value our walk with God, when we crave His Word and acting in and through us, we begin to value others–for that is the focus of the Gospel. The greatest antidote to self-misery and self-contempt is to view others in the light of the love of Christ. That will not negate nor ameliorate past failures, but it will jar us back into the reality of precious souls and people worth intentionally investing in. Not because of their intrinsic value, but because of their eternal value. The value that Christ placed on the individual. We begin to see past the chasm of our making through the lens of God’s grace and love. Not self-worth, but Christ’s love that He has for me. Is not another worth that at the very least?
