The Act of Relationship

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; seek good and not evil, that you may live; seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel. So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:4, 6, 14-15

Relationship is doing life together, not just in shifts.

A relationship is built by doing the same things in life together. When you practice doing good, you will naturally build a relationship with others who are doing good as well. If you are in a relationship with someone who practices doing evil, you will eventually start to practice evil as well. This is why 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’” Even if you have good intentions, continual company with those who practice evil will slowly and gradually corrupt you. You cannot do shifts of good among those who are practicing evil. However, you can encourage others who are practicing evil to join you in practicing good, but you have to let them join you instead of joining them. As a relational being, you cannot do a “shift” of goodness on Sunday for a few hours and a “shift” of evil on Friday night. What you do builds who you are and who you are becomes your greatest wealth (Proverbs 22:1) and out of your wealth flows what you do (Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 15:16-20).

Guard spiritual wealth more than you guard physical wealth. 

Physical wealth is useful in this life now, but spiritual wealth is both profitable for this life and the life that is to come. Physical wealth is guarded by making sure no one can take it away, but spiritual wealth is guarded by giving it away. When spiritual wealth is dispersed among a larger community of people, it is more likely to be passed on and less likely to pass away when the owner of the spiritual wealth passes away. Invest in things that increase their value by being given away and passed on. The wealth of a nation is not measured by its production nor by its population but by its spiritual wealth that it passes along to its people and the next generation. The spiritual wealth of a nation (freedom, liberty, godliness, prayer, devotion, etc.) gains in value by sharing it with other nations and passing it on to future generations.

You decide who you want to and get to spend time with.

Like any other physical wealth, time is limited in quantity and it is only useful when it is given to others in exchange for something. The best use of a limited wealth is to spend it to acquire spiritual wealth, which is unlimited because it comes from the Spirit of God. When you spend your physical wealth hating evil, loving good and establishing justice, you will get to spend more time with others who are establishing justice, loving good, and hating evil. Spend your physical wealth acquiring spiritual wealth, and others that are interested in acquiring spiritual wealth will want to spend time with you. And you will be able to increase the value of your spiritual wealth by passing it on to others. If you value wealth, both spiritual and physical, you will pursue a life of doing good. Practice doing good and pursue a relationship with those who practice doing good instead of seeking “shifts” with people who do good.