Relationships.
Hey everyone! It’s your girl Julie, back with another segment of “Salty & Lit,” a faith based blog that teaches young girls what it means to be salty and lit and how to live that out. In today’s post, we’ll be talking about relationships, but the first thing I want us to do is pray.
Father, You are so good. Thank You for teaching me about relationships. Help me to trust You in them. Amen.
So relationships… Everyone has them, or should because the Bible says so. In Genesis 2:18, God says, “It is not good for man to be alone,” though this is in the context of man and woman working together side-by-side, it can be still be used to let us know that we were created for relationship with each other.
Since the beginning, we’ve been created for community, but relationship was broken with man and one another because of the Fall (that is when Eve and Adam sinned), but here’s another thing: we also are not called to be in deep community with everyone. Jesus gives the perfect example in His life: In his earthly ministry, Jesus was around a lot of people, but He did not entrust Himself to everyone. In John 2:20 (ESV), it says, “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because He knew all people.” That means though Jesus was near people, He did not trust them because He knew what was in their hearts. On our own, we can’t detect the hearts of man, but we have Someone who does: The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has given us discernment (the ability to judge) and wisdom (if we ask) to determine the levels of friendship in our lives.
Even Jesus had levels (crowds, disciples, and the Three) and He was fine with navigating those relationships. In His relationship with the “three,” that is Peter, James, and John, we see a different level of intimacy Jesus expressed to them. In the Garden of Gethsemane, for example, Jesus asked them to be with Him during one of His most difficult times in His life (Matthew 26:36-38; Mark 14:32-34); in the Mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John again to see a glorified version of Himself (Matthew 17:1-2), and Jesus took them when He went to heal a man’s dead daughter (Mark 5:21-43; emphasis on verse 37). This lets us know that Jesus had different relationships with people, and it’s okay to do so.
Not everyone should have access to you, and that’s fine.
As someone in leadership, it’s easy to think I have to be close with everyone, but as I’m learning, not everyone needs access to me. Not everyone is worthy to see the intricate parts of Julie because that’s not right. I deserve to share the intimate parts of me with people who care and have demonstrated or God has revealed that they are trustworthy.
I had a time where I got corrected for being intimate with everyone. That is, I was sharing my business left and right, and when I got corrected, I was devastated because I did not realize at the time how much I was blabbering away. Intimacy involves secrets, and when you blab away, you are basically treating that part of you as trash. The Bible tells us to use discretion in Proverbs (more specifically 2:11 and 11:22 to name a few), and if we don’t use discretion, then we miss out on the opportunities God has for us because we talked too much.
I made that error, so you don’t have to. Trust when I say, not everyone needs to know your business, but what they need to know is the Jesus in You, so let’s get to the ending points.
We are created for relationship.
However, not everyone is created for deep relationship with you.
There are levels to intimacy (ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the levels of relationships in your life).
It’s okay not to entrust yourself to everyone. Jesus didn’t.
My friend, the same way Jesus executed boundaries by not entrusting Himself to everyone, we should do the same by following His example of how He navigated relationships during His time on earth.
Let’s pray.
Father, You are so good. Thank You for revealing that relationships are important, but it is also important to navigate the types of relationships that we have. Help us to trust that You’ll reveal the relationships we are supposed to have and the people we are to trust. Father, we thank You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
With that being said, don’t forget you are loved, salty, and lit! Talk to you soon! 🧡
