For a relationship to be successful, we need to have good communication with each other. Without sharing our thoughts and feelings with the other person, we won’t get very far. In fact, we may just end up resentful and bitter because the other person didn’t do what we expected them to. But without telling them what we need, we can’t expect them to know. And if we don’t tell someone when something they’ve done has hurt us, we can’t expect them to apologise or change their behaviour. In today’s society, communication has reached new levels. We can now talk to hundreds of people through social media. And we need to be careful what we’re saying about our relationships when we’re online. Let’s not post about what’s going wrong in our relationships or what’s annoying us about our partner. That’s not helpful for the situation or honouring towards them. We need to make sure we’re raising issues in our relationships, and raising them in the right way. The Bible says: ‘If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you’ (Matthew 18:15 NIV). Sometimes we need to ask the advice of others outside of the relationship, but let’s be wise about when we do this and who we talk to. Once we’ve raised an issue within our relationship, we need to be willing to forgive. The Bible says: ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other’ (Ephesians 4:32 NIV). No one is perfect and no relationship is perfect. People will make mistakes. If we’re going to make a relationship work, and this applies to friendships too, then we need to be prepared to communicate and forgive others.

What Now?

This week, try making all your posts on social media uplifting, encouraging and positive about others.