IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?  2  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Philippians 2:1-2 NLT

• Healthy relationships build unity and purpose.
• Unhealthy relationships destroy everything.
• Pride destroys relationships.

Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise. Proverbs 13:10 NLT

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 NLT

• Selfishness destroys relationships.

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?  2  You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. James 4:1-2 NLT

WE MUST WORK DAILY ON OUR ATTITUDE.

• Our attitude is critical to healthy relationships.
• Our attitude must be the same as Christ Jesus.

3  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  4  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took
the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being… Philippians 2:3-7 NLT

• Our attitude is how we perceive things.

22  “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.  23  But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” Matthew 6:22-23 NLT

What are the gifts we receive through faith in Jesus Christ that he established through his death on the cross?

• Eternal Life
• Freedom
• Peace
• Healing
• Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT FOR YOU.

• We have all been hurt or wounded at some point. Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? Proverbs 20:6 NLT
• Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 NLT
• When we forgive others, we give ourselves a gift.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20 NLT

• Forgiveness will heal you and protect you from the sin that wants to harm the body of Christ.

3 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.  4  But—when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,  5  he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.  7  Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. Titus 3:3-7 NLT

Next steps for me today…

• To commit to the hard work of healthy relationships.
• To work on my attitude by allowing God to change my heart.
• To choose today to forgive those that have hurt me.
• To help keep the Body of Christ healthy by choosing to forgive quickly.