Three things you can do right now to improve any kind of relationship …

In 1977, Lloyd Perry wrote a book called, “Gettin the Church on Target,” in which he quoted the following statistic:

“The Carnegie Technological Institute has stated that 90 percent of all people who fail in their life’s vocation fail because they cannot get along with people.”

Getting along with people has been humanity’s problem from the very beginning. When Eve, sinned, she blamed the serpent; and when Adam sinned, he blamed Eve. It wasn’t long until we would see one brother (Cain) murder another (Abel).

People haven’t been very good to each other since sin entered the world!

How about you? What are your relationships like? From striving for a happy marriage and home, to getting along with co-workers, to dealing with friendships, life is made up of all kinds of “relationships,” and for many of us most of them are, at best, mediocre.

Much can be said for how to develop great relationships, but in today’s post, let me keep it simple by giving you three things you can do right now that will improve any kind of relationship in your life. I’ve picked these three things because these three issues are the most common relationship killers. If you can fix these, you can improve any relationship!

1. Get sin out of the way. Sin is humanity’s number one relationship killer — not just between God and human beings, but between any human beings. When there is the unrepented practice of sin in a life, there is a feeding of selfishness and pride, which will always negatively impact any kind of relationship. By fully surrendering your entire life to God, and letting Him cleanse you from all sin, you are best and most capable of succeeding in any kind of relationships.

2. Eliminate the habit of irrational thinking. Most people who make an appointment to see a counselor do not do so to be diagnosed and treated for a mental illness, they do so because of problems with a relationship or multiple relationships. A major root cause behind these relational troubles is a habit of irrational thinking, often at a subconscious level. By working with a competent clinical therapist trained in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, you can learn to eliminate the habit of irrational thinking and replace it with consistent rational thinking – the impact of doing so on relationships can be wildly positive, even transforming.

3. Love them. The single greatest element in any relationship is love. Not “warm, fuzzy emotions” or physical desire, but “agape love” where you consistently and persistently act in the best interests of the other person. Relationships don’t fail because we’re consistently loving one another, they fail from a lack of love. Start loving every person in all of your relationships and see the difference it will make.

When you’re interacting with others from a position of clear-minded holiness and persistent love, it would be very hard for a relationship not to thrive!

Scotty