Relationships

I am going to be speaking to the baseball team at Bartram Trails in about 1 hour. I am going there as a Pastor who works for the Betty Griffin House and that is awesome. Usually I go to schools and speak to different groups about the Betty Griffin House and the things that a Community Educator covers such as: bullying, respect, violence, and healthy relationships. But today, I am going to do those things and cover them in a Biblical manner. It's exciting when I can be a Pastor in the context of this job, no doubt.
I want you to think about the world and how we treat our teenagers and young boys. As a child boys cry much more than girls and are usually more sensitive than girls. But, as they grow they are taught it has to be the other way around. The world teaches them to be tough, dominating, powerful, wealthy and athletic. The way God lays it out for us we should be sharing in relationships. Life is all about relationships and how you make each relationship better should be how you measure success. Think about it, the only way we can truly succeed in worldly ways is to build the best relationships we can.
Where does this thinking come from? The Ten Commandments, think about it the first 4 commandments deal with God. They deal with us building a relationship and keeping a healthy relationship with GOd. THe next 6 commandments have to deal with cultivating right relationships with others.
When he was confronted by a teacher, they asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. He replied, "TO love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. And the second is to love your neighbor as yourself."
Think about those words, it's all about relationships. Throw away monetary success, success with the ladies, and athletic prowess. We need to teach young men about relationships with others, that is how GOd put us together, to live and function in healthy relationships.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!