It’s Easier to Maintain a Relationship, Than Rebuilt It – (Proverbs 18:19)

Daily Bible Study
There are no walls as hard to tear down, and no barriers as difficult to break through as a brother offended. This means as Christians, we who claim to be followers of Jesus, should take great care to understand what people are really trying to say to us before we speak or act. In addition, we need to deal with our brothers and sisters showing the love, concern and charity which Jesus has shown us. In short, we are to put others ahead of ourselves. We are to show everyone the same type of care and attention that we would show a greatly loved family member. We cannot forget we are all one family. Through Jesus all of us have been adopted into the family of God. Because of our faith we are all children of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

Therefore, we are called by God to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we live our day to day lives. This also means we are called to put others first in all our interactions, to keep the best interest of others at heart. We are to put others ahead of ourselves and treat all people with kindness, charity and love. We are to take into consideration God's kingdom and the eternal destiny of all we meet. We are not to put our desires, our emotions or our needs ahead of the well being of others. God calls us to look out for the long-term welfare of those around us and not our short-term desires. With this passage the Bible is giving us practical wisdom as well as a real-life warning, that if we are not taking great care in our relationships now, they may be much harder or impossible to restore later. After we have thoughtlessly offended our brothers and sisters in Christ, we may never be able to restore our broken relationship with them.