To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MCK6oitgBcc
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast! This week we are kicking off a new series discussing the four essential principles to a healthy relationship. We are talking about relationships like marriage, parenting, friendships, and even with employees and coworkers. Keep reading to find out what we covered in our first week on this topic.
Tim and Kimberly pull their essential principles to a healthy relationship from Ephesians 5:18-20 which says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The four essential principles to a healthy relationship we will be covering over the next few weeks are:
1. Communication
2. Rejoicing
3. Gratitude
4. Mutual Submission
Why does God’s Word contrast getting drunk on wine to being filled with the Spirit? In the verses before 18, starting in verse 15 it says, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." When we are drunk, we do not function on wisdom, we are not thinking straight, and it affects the way we walk. This verse is not talking about drinking one glass of wine but instead being fully drunk. The topics of being drunk and being filled with the Spirit are contrasted because when we are filled with the Spirit, it also affects the way we walk and behave. When we are filled with the Spirit, He gives us wisdom to function. The filling of the Spirit is when the Holy Spirit of God takes biblical truth and infuses it into a person's life. It changes the way we think, our belief system, and our character. The result of being filled with the Spirit comes from verse 19 which is speaking, singing, giving thanks, and submitting. To make our relationships strong and healthy, we need character traits that positively affect the relationships in our lives. These character traits come from being filled with the Spirit as it says in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The first essential principle to a healthy relationship is communication. Tim explains that communication is the building block of every relationship in our lives. Tim says, "If you think of communication solely as what you say, you are missing the point." Communication is the combination of what you hear and what you say in response. There are four agreed upon communication styles: passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive. The first three communication styles are all unhealthy and fear-based. When you are afraid, it drives anger. Assertive communicators are more interested in the truth than in control. They are calm and not filled with emotion when they are communicating. We all need to develop assertive communication skills in order to have healthy relationships. Instead of trying to control the conversation, assertive communicators are curious about what the other person has to say. Assertive communicators are also okay with speaking their feelings, even if it disagrees with what the other person is saying. What are practical ways we can develop assertive communication skills in our own lives? Tim and Kimberly provide three ways.
Be honest. Speak the truth in love.
Listen carefully. When you fail to listen to what someone has to say, you are essentially saying you do not respect that person.
Agree to disagree. Understand that you can love people you disagree with.
Join us next week as we continue covering the four essential principles to healthy relationships.
QUOTES
"If you think of communication solely as what you say, you are missing the point." -Tim
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
Ephesians 5:18-20 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 5:15-17 "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
