Understanding your Relationship with Others

What does God say about relationships with others?
Love is the foundation of all relationships, and that love should be characterised by selflessness, kindness, and forgiveness. The Bible commands us to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Deuteronomy 5:16-21, says
You must honour your father and your mother. The Lord, your God, has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the Lord, your God, gives you. You must not murder anyone. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about other people. You must not want another man’s wife. You must not want his house, his fields, his male servants, his female servants, his cattle, and donkeys. You must not take anything that belongs to another person.

Proverbs 3:27-35, teaches us
Do everything you can for those in need. If your neighbour needs something you have, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow.” Give it to him immediately. Don’t make plans to harm your neighbour who lives nearby and trusts you. Don’t take people to court without good reason, especially when they have done nothing to harm you. Don’t envy those who are violent. Never choose to be like them. Such crooked people are disgusting to the Lord. But he is a friend to those who are good and honest. The people curse a wicked family, but he blesses the homes of those who live righteously. He will humiliate those who make fun of others, but he is kind to those who are humble. The way the wise live will bring honour, but the way fools live will bring them shame.

Matthew 18:15-17 describes
If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to you, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again. But if they refuse to listen to you, then tell the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would treat someone who does not know God or who is a tax collector.

Galatians 6:1-10 teaches us to help each other
Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it gently. But be careful, because you may be tempted to sin as well. Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours. Whoever is being taught God’s word should share the good things they have with the one who is teaching them. If you think you can fool God, you are only fooling yourselves. You will harvest what you plant. If you live to satisfy your sinful self, the harvest you will get from that will be eternal death. But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life. We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. However, we should give special attention to those who are part of the family of believers.

In Colossians 3:12-17, we study about our new life with each other
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. Alongside these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love holds everything together in perfect unity. Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. You were chosen to be together in one body for peace. And always be thankful. Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Everything you say and do should be done for Jesus, your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

1 John 4:7-12, tells us that Love comes from God
We should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child. And so everyone who loves knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins. That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So we also must love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us. If we love each other, God’s love has reached its goal – it is made perfect in us.