A Great Life is Always a Team Sport
You can’t live a great life alone. It’s better to learn to get along with and work with people.
A great life is a team sport. Your best life will always be full of great partnerships.
1 Peter 3:10-11 Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Ephesians 4:15-16 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Qualities of life-giving relationships
Life-giving relationships are truthful and loving
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- Ephesians 4:15 “but speaking the truth in love…”
- Some people might have a tendency to lean toward truth and others toward love
- A real relationship is managing the balance of speaking truth and love
- Everyone has blind spots; we would want those who really love us to help us see them
- You have to earn the right to speak things into people’s lives
- People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care
- Be a strength finder in people instead of a fault finder
Life-giving relationships are grown-up relationships
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- Ephesians 4:15 “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him.”
- Growing older does not always equate to growing up; we are to grow up in all aspects into Him
- Grown-ups have an adult, seasoned perspective
- Grown-ups give others grace; when you’ve really tried to live, build, and grow, you know it’s not easy
Life-giving relationships get the big picture
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- Romans 14:7 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself.”
- All of your relationships are part of a big picture that affects more than just you
- Relationships are not just for our own personal comfort and convenience
- Sometimes you need to work things out for the big picture’s sake
Life-giving relationships are organic
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- “What God has joined together, let no man separate”
- There’s something valuable in knowing who you’re joined to
- God has joinings for your life; there are destiny connections meant for you
- Don’t place unrealistic, inorganic expectations on your relationships
- Building and maintaining great, organic relationships is an essential part of building a great life
Discussion Questions
- What relationships in your life have been God-ordained, organic, life-giving relationships?
- How are you personally challenged by this message? Are there relationships in your life that you need to invest more energy into or even some you need to relinquish?