Wisdom: The Principle ThingSample

Principles for Biblical Relationships

We live in a culture that is paradoxically concerned with the nature of love and relationships as well as the importance of self and the value of solitude. The reconciling factor in all this is even when it thinks about relationship and community, it usually places most of the emphasis on the needs of the self and how to interact with others on the basis that they have something to offer us. As soon as we are no longer being benefited, we are no longer under any kind of obligation to pursue and maintain the relationship.

We need to nurture and cultivate relationships that spur us on in the path of wisdom and righteousness. It’s ironic that this kind of community is neglected in favor of relationships which seem to benefit us in the moment with warm feelings and automatic affirmation when the kind of praise and honor that comes from biblical relationships - where the people involved are concerned for the eternal well-being of each other - is much more beneficial when all is weighed in the balance. “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth... The sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel... The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise” (Proverbs 27:2, 9, 21). This is community worth pursuing. The love and friendship promoted by the world is sorely insufficient in comparison.