Getting Along - The Key

There is a key that fits every relationship door.  It opens the door regardless of culture or where in the world you may live.

That key is Respect.

The word 'Respect' conjures up many things in people's minds and depending on your perspective, it can be something that is liberating or it can be something that creates great internal conflict.

To respect does not mean to agree with or side with.  In a simple way, it means to accept that others may think and act differently to you for their own reasons.  And these reasons will remain unknown to you unless you win their confidence and show a genuine interest in their thinking and reasoning.

In this same way, a journalist can sit down face to face with the leader of a terrorist organisation and learn why they are so passionate about their cause and what they're willing to do for it.  The journalist would not be afforded the same opportunity if they were to seek an interview just so that they could attack that leader and their organisation in the Press.

We're challenged every day in our relationships with others, as you'd expect when you're in among 7.4 billion other people, all of who have different personalities, life experiences, and influences.  We can't change people to our liking so our best chance of getting along is to do things God's way, starting with Respecting others (1 Peter 2:17).

'Getting Along' is a new series about life from a fresh perspective.  See the article at Getting Along (#3) The Key.

Note:  Interesting thing about respecting others...it may take effort but it doesn't change anything about who we are - it just creates a much better space in which to get along.