Be the 3rd: Communicating the Way God Intended

We all have a preferred love language, certain acts of love that we desire more than others. This is true in all of our relationshps not just our romantic relationships. 

Love languages are how we communicate love to each other, they are: 

·       Words of affirmation

·       Quality time

·       Physical touch

·       Acts of service

·       Receiving gifts

Jesus has a preferred love language, not listed above but is the foundation of all the others and they way that He first communicated His love to us. 

Sacrifice

Romans 5:8 

God demonstrated His love to us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

^{Matthew 16:24-25}

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Chapman, G. D. (1992). The 5 love languages: The secret to love that lasts. Northfield

             Publishing.

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Today on Bethe3rd we’re going to be talking about storytelling and how important this simple act of communication is to our world and our wellbeing.

Storytelling goes back to the very beginning of time.

It is one of our best and most beneficial learning tools. It emphasizes the storyteller’s creativity and engages the listener in critical thinking. It helps the storyteller convey critical life skills and lessons without long drawn out technical or complicated words or phrases.

Human beings love stories and God knew this because. He created us in His image, and this is how Jesus communicated with us.

Storytelling is the preferred teaching method of Jesus. A parable is defined as a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.  

Stories keep conversations moving along, and can help to build relationships. They are also fun and lighthearted.

We all have stories to tell and they all have the ability to lead, inspire, encourage, and comfort, so tell your stories often.

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present visual stories that transform audiences. Hoboken: John Wiley

       & Sons.

Phillips, D. J. (2017, March 16). The magical science of storytelling | TEDxStockholm. Retrieved from

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA.

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If we are to love others as ourselves and have been made for relationship and to be in community with others than I can only believe that its true that….

“Our survival depends on understanding the actions, intentions and emotions of others.” (Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti)

We have heard that the eyes are the window to the soul.  Although very poetic this just isn’t so. According to most experts in order to know the human soul we must see the face. 

Today on Be the 3^rd we will be discussing how important the face is. Weather the world judges your face as beautiful or homely it just doesn’t matter. All of our faces are beautiful in the fact that they allow others to know us, and understand us, to feel what we feel and to share in our experiences with us. In conjunction with our mirror neuron system our faces are indeed the window into our souls and the very tool that God gave us to truly know others so that loving them like ourselves becomes the easy, selfless act it was always meant to be.

God has given us this gift of the face. Regardless of how the world judges it, God has made a beautiful window that allows us to see into the souls of others. With the help of our mirror neurons, we get past our selfishness. Once we feel what others feel naturally, subconsciously it becomes easy to put them just below God yet above us and love them as ourselves.   

                                                                               Scripture

1 Pet 3:8 - Finally, all of you, be like minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 

Rom 12:15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn.

1 John 3:17 - If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in the person? 

Matt 22:39 - And the second is like it: Love you neighbor as yourself.

Matt 9:36 - When he saw the crowds, he had compasisonn on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 

Luke 7:13 - When the Lord saw her, his heat went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

Psalm 103:13-14 - As a father has compassionn on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 

1 Pet 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

John 11:35 - Jesus wept. 

References

 The CW, VH1, Bravo, UPN. (2003, May 20). America's Next Top Model. whole.

Blakeslee, S. (2006, January 10). Cells That Read Minds. New York Times.

Crampton, L. (2016, July 28). The brain: Broca's and Wernicke's areas and the circle of willis. Owlcation. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://owlcation.com/stem/Exploring-the-Brain-Three-Regions-Named-after-Scientists

Darwin, C., Prodger, P., & Ekman, P. (1998). The expression of the emotions in man and animals essay on the history of the illustration / by Philip Prodger (Anniversary Edition). Oxford University Press.

Dimberg, U. (1982). Facial reactions to facial expressions. Psychophysiology, 19(6), 643–647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1982.tb02516.x

Duchenne, G.-B., & Cuthbertson, R. A. (2006). The mechanism of human facial expression. Cambridge University Press.

Ekman, P. (2003). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and emotional life. Henry Holt and Co.

Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (2003). Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial expressions. Malor Books.

Glenberg, A. M. (2006). Naturalizing Cognition: The Integration of Cognitive Science and Biology. Current Biology, 16(18). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.08.044

Goleman, D. (2006). Social Intelligence: The revolutionary new science of human relationships. Bantam Books.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional contagion. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Iacoboni, M. (2009). Mirroring people: The science of empathy and how we connect with others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Keysers, C., & Fadiga, L. (2015). The Mirror Neuron System. Psychology Press.

Ramachandran, V. S. (2012). The tell-tale brain: A Neuroscientist's quest for what makes Us human. W.W. Norton.

Rifkin, J. (2016). The Sentient Interpretation of Biologica Evolution. In The empathic civilization: The race to global consciousness in a world in crisis (pp. 82–104). essay, Polity.

Rizzolatti, G. (n.d.). An Emotional Mirror Mechanism. www.gocognitive.net. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://youtu.be/y_KlrOPih9s

Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Gallese, V., & Fogassi, L. (1996). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research, 3(2), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/0926-6410(95)00038-0

Siegel, D. J. (2007). The Mindful Brain: Reflection and attunement in the cultivation of well-being. W.W. Norton & Co.

WhiteSmoke, W.-L. L. S. by. (n.d.). 11 insane (but true) things about smiling: WhiteSmoke. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from http://www.whitesmoke.com/smiles

So many times we read a verse and know exactly what it means, but other times we read the same verse and get a totally different perspective on it. 

What does it mean to not let the sun go down on your anger? Eph 4:26-27

Does it mean literally, don't go to bed with unresolved conflict or is there a different meaning all together? 

What if this verse along with it's related verse Psalm 4:4 is a lesson in self-awareness? 

What if it is a warning against staying in a estranged relationship for years. 

What if instead of a literal day, this verse actually references death? 

Ephesians 4:26-27 - Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. 

Psalm 4:4 - Be angry and do not sin. Meditate in your heart on your bed and be still. 

Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. 

S1Ep10 - Self-awareness

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Smith, Robert H. Goodreads. (n.d.). A quote by Robert H. Smith. Goodreads.

        https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/385568-the-clock-of-life-is-wound-but-once-and-no

Today's podcast will continue our deep dive into the root meaning of the words confrontation and conversation. If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to parts one and two make sure to go back so you don't miss a thing. (S1Ep13; S1Ep14).

We've been talking about the differences and similarities between confrontation and conversation. When we break these two words down to their roots we realize that they come from the same place and have pretty much the same meaning. 

Today we will finally address my bold statement that althought we admit to loving converstion while simultaneously hating confrontation we show by our actions that the opposite is actually true. 

Communication experts, psychologist and our God all agree that when a confrontation is done right it will preserve relationships, bring people together, solve problems, and create emotional, relational, and spritual growth.

That sounds an awful like a conversation to me. 

1 Thess 5:11

Ephesians 4:25-32

Galatians 6:1

Galatians 5:22-23

Ephesians 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Cloud, H., Townsed, J. (2005). How to have that difficult conversation: Gaining the skills

     for honest and meaningful communication. Zondervan

Patterson, K., Genny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2005). Crucial confrontation: Tools

      for resolving broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior. McGraw-Hill. 

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools  

      for talking when the stakes are high. McGraw-Hill. 

Scott, S. (2004). Fierce conversations: Achieving success at work and in life, one

       conversatoins at a time. Berkley Publishing Group.

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Today's podcast will continue our deep dive into the root meaning of the words confrontation and conversation. If you haven't heard last weeks episode make sure to go back so you don't miss a thing. (S1Ep13)

We've been talking about the differences and similarities between confrontation and conversation. When we break these two words down to their roots we realize that they come from the same place and have pretty much the same meaning. 

Today we will use a sports analogy to understand how we view confrontation. We will also learn some of the characteristics or rules to conversation. 

Communication experts, psychologist and our God all agree that when a confrontation is done right it will preserve relationships, bring people together, solve problems, and create emotional, relational, and spritual growth.

That sounds an awful like a conversation to me. 

1 Thess 5:11

Gal 6:1 

Gal 5:22-23

Ephesians 4:25-32

Cloud, H., Townsed, J. (2005). How to have that difficult conversation: Gaining the skills

       for honest and meaningful communication. Zondervan

Patterson, K., Genny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2005). Crucial confrontation: Tools

      for resolving broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior. McGraw-Hill. 

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools  

      for talking when the stakes are high. McGraw-Hill. 

Scott, S. (2004). Fierce conversations: Achieving success at work and in life, one

       conversatoins at a time. Berkley Publishing Group.

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Most of us admit to enjoying conversation while simultaneously hating confrontation. 

When we break these two words down to their roots we realize that they come from the same place and have pretty much the same meaning. 

Regardless of what we say, we tend to particpate more in confrontation than in conversation that is not small talk or agreeableness. 

Simply put, conversations require much of us including an abundance of self-control (S1Ep11) Confrontations on the other hand require very little with virtually no self-control. 

This series will compare and contrast confrontation vs conversations. We will look at not only the root of each word but our misconceptions about them and how a confrontation is simply a misunderstood conversation. 

Communication experts, psychologist and our God all agree that when a confrontation is done right it will preserve relationships, bring people together, solve problems, and create emotional, relational, and spritual growth.

That sounds an awful like a conversation to me. 

1 Thess 5:11

Gal 6:1 

Gal 5:22-23

Eph 5:33

Matt 22:37-39

Cloud, H., Townsed, J. (2005). How to have that difficult conversation: Gaining the skill

        for honest and meaningful communication. Zondervan

Patterson, K., Genny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2005). Crucial confrontation: Tools

       for resolving broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior. McGraw-Hill. 

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools

       for talking when the stakes are high. McGraw-Hill. 

Scott, S. (2004). Fierce conversations: Achieving success at work and in life, one

       conversatoins at a time. Berkley Publishing Group.

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If we want to have to have deeper more meaninful relationships we need to start thinking more about our Self's and less about our relationship partner. 

This goes against everything we know about relationships and is in direct contradiction to our theme here at Be the 3rd. 

Yet, there are three key components of our communication process that never get the attention that they need, and they all require that we focus quite a bit of time thinking about these three aspects of ourselves. 

Self-Awareness

Self-Control 

Self-Esteem 

Once we start to focus and understand these three components of self, not only will our relationships with each other deepen and strengthen but so will our relationship with God. 

This is the final episode in the series of Key Components to Successful Relationships. If you missed the others you can find them here: S1Ep9, S1Ep10, S1Ep11.

References:

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S., & Ivy, D. K. (2022). Communications: Principles for a lifetime (8th ed.). Pearson education Ince.

Bennett, W. J., & Bennett, E. (2022). The book of virtues: A treasury of great moral stories. Simon & Schuster.

Department of Sociology. (2021, June 11). Self Esteem. What is it?. www.umd.edu. www.umd.edu/sociology

Holy bible. (2011). Zondervan.

Mcleod, S. (2023, July 7). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Mussweiler, T. (2003). Comparison processes in social judgment: Mechanisms and consequences. Psychological Review, 110(3), 472–489. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.110.3.472

Eph 4:25-32

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”^[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Exodus 20:2-17 

And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image  ⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.¹² “Honor your father and your mother, ¹³ “You shall not murder.¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.¹⁵ “You shall not steal.¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.¹⁷ “You shall not covet.

1 Samuel 16:7

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Proverbs 6:16-19

¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates,
    seven that are detestable to him: ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

1 Cor 6:19-20

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

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If we want to have to have deeper more meaninful relationships we need to start thinking more about our Self's and less about our relationship partner. 

This goes against everything we know about relationships and is in direct contradiction to our theme here at Be the 3rd. 

Yet, there are three key components of our communication process that never get the attention that they need, and they all require that we focus quite a bit of time thinking about these three aspects of ourselves. 

Self-Awareness

Self-Control 

Self-Esteem 

Once we start to focus and understand these three components of self, not only will our relationships with each other deepen and strengthen but so will our relationship with God. 

This is part three in the series of Key Components to Successful Relationships. If you missed the first two you can find them here: S1Ep9, S1Ep10.

References

Beran, M. (2018). Self-control in animals and people. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier.

Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bloomsbury.

Holy bible. (2017). Zondervan.

Mischel, W. (2014). The marshmallow test. Hachette USA.

Walton, D. (2012). Emotional intelligence: A practical guide. MJF Books.

Bible verses

Romans 8:5-6  ^"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is all you need, for my power is the greatest when you are weak.”

Galations 5:22-24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

James 1:19-20 "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

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If we want to have to have deeper more meaninful relationships we need to start thinking more about our Self's and less about our relationship partner. 

This goes against everything we know about relationships and is in direct contradiction to our theme here at Be the 3rd. 

Yet, there are three key components of our communication process that never get the attention that they need, and they all require that we focus quite a bit of time thinking about these three aspects of ourselves. 

Self-Awareness

Self-Control 

Self-Esteem 

Once we start to focus and understand these three components of self, not only will our relationships with each other deepen and strengthen but so will our relationship with God. 

Today's podcast is part 2 in this series and focuses on self-awareness the foundation to the other Selfs (refer to S1Ep9 for part 1)

Self awareness is one of the five aspects to emotional intelligence. A high level of self awareness allows us to know and control our emotions. It gives us an insight into our own behaviors, styles, and sins. It also gives us confidence in our abiliities, talents, and our true calling from God. 

We must know and understand ourselves wholly before we can know and understand others. When we find our true selves, through intervention from God, He will meet our needs.  We then will look less toward others to meet them raising us to the top tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This level of consciousness allows us to move our focus to our relationship partners and away from ourselves. 

References 

Daniel, G. (2020). Emotional intelligence. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. 

Duval, S., & Wicklund, R. A. (1972). A theory of objective self-awareness. Academic Press. 

Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of needs. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-H-Maslow 

The holy bible. (2002). American Bible Society. 

Murthy, V. H. (2020). Together: The healing power of human connection in a sometimes Lonely World. Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.

Newell, C. D. (2022, February 10). Seeing Myself Through God’s Eyes. Encouragement Cafe. encouragementcafe.com 

Silvia, P. J., & Duval, T. S. (2001). Objective self-awareness theory: Recent progress and enduring problems. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0503_4 

Bible Verses

Ephesians 4:22-24

     You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to bel like God in true righteousness and holiness.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

     Therefore, is anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

Proverbs 21:2

     A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Psalm 26:2

     Test me Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love.

Psalm 139:23-24

     Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Romans 12:3

     For by the grace given me I say to every one of you; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

John 8:12

     When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

1 Samuel 13:14

     But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

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What if I said that if you want to have deeper more meaningful relationships you need to start thinking more about yourself and less about your relationship partner? 

Not only does this go against everything you've ever heard, but it is also in direct contradiction to our theme here at Be the 3rd. 

Yet, there are three key components of our communication process that never get the attention that they need. 

Self awareness

Self control 

Self esteem

Once we start to focus and understand these three components not only will our relationships with each other deepen and strengthen but so will our relationship with God. 

Focusing more of our own time on understanding these three selfs ouselves, means others don't have to spend so much time focused on doing it for us. 

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Ivy, D. K. (2022). Communications: Principles for a lifetime (8th ed.). Pearson. 

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations. McGraw-Hill. 

Zondervan. (2011). The holy bible.

www.jackiemelvin.com

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God's word and science are always in sync, when we know where to look. 

Words are powerful. God says so, science says so.

Phil 4:8 tells us to think on whatever it true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. 

Science tell us that dwelling on negativity or thinking negative thoughts, even looking at negative words can be detrimental to our overall well being. 

On this episode we look at scientific research and compare it to God's word on how important it is to dwell on the positive. 

You may want to re-listen to episode four to remember what I said about the responsiblity between the speaker and the listener. 

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Ivy, D. K. (2022). Communication: Principles for a lifetime. Pearson  Education Limited. 

Newberg, A., & Waldman1, M. (2012, August 1). Why this word is so dangerous to say or hear. Psychology Today. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/words-can-change-your-brain/201208/why-word-is-so-dangerous-say-or-hear 

Schemmer, J. (2014, January 22). The Power Of Words. HuffPost.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from www.huffpost.com 

Zusak, M. (2005). The book thief. Alfred A Knopf/Random House . 

We debate what the worst sin is all the time, but in truth God does not rank sin. Right? 

But if we were to compare The Ten Commandments to the seven things that God hates and came up with one particular sin that not only shows up on both lists but in many different places on each. Would we ever consider ranking that sin the worst? 

Putting God first, others second, and ourselves third means seeking God's will, and treating others with respect. God hates lying, and lying to others shows a complete lack of respect for that person. Why then do we do it so often? 

Humans beings have a need to control others. Yet because we are complex we also have a need for autonomy. This contradiction can obviously play a negative role in relationship dynamics. 

During conflict we have a tendency to not allow the other person to have their say. There can be many reasons why we choose not to listen to their side of the story but ultimately controlling the conversation controls the other person taking away their autonomy and is every bit a power grab. 

When we put God first, others second, and ourselves third we should strive for an equal distrubtion of power and respect the thoughts and feelings of others by listening to what they have to say. 

Because everyone has the right to be heard. 

This week I want to elaborate on last weeks episode, "Sharing the Responsiblity in the Communication Process."

In the communication process there are senders and receivers and they both bear the burden of creating a respectful environment for each other. Speakers love their freedom of speech and like to be able to say what they want. At the same time listeners feel entitled and expect to never be offended. Of course, these contradictory perspectives are bound to cause conflict.

Proverbs 18 points out that the speaker and the listener can both be thought of as fools when neither decides to take the time to understand the other. 

What if we took on the role of partners in communication instead of competitors and decided to help each other out in order to create a manageable, healthy, and respectful environment?

In today's world we run the risk of cancellation if we say the wrong thing regardless of our intent. This puts all the responsibility on the speaker and absolves the listener of any responsiblity in our communication process. 

At the same time we live under the umbrella of free speech allowing the speaker to say whatever they want. This puts all the responsibility on the listener and absolves the speaker of any responsibility in our communication process. 

This is a contradiction. 

However, God has asked that both be equally responsible.

James 1:19 - Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. 

Eph 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

I learned to be the 3rd from my mom while I was still in my first decade of life. She taught me the lesson about giving to others while still in the struggle. Putting others  needs above her own when she could afford it the least. 

Not unlike the story about the widow's offering (Mk 12:41-43) 

Jesus watched as the people gave. Many of the weathly gave large amounts comfortably. However, there was a very poor widow who gave everything she had. This is who Jesus noticed, "They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on." 

Mom said, "No matter how bad you think you have it, somebody, somewhere has it worse than you. Everyone has enough to give to someone with less." 

Spiritual maturity is not the memorization of scripture or church attendance, it is following the sacrificial example of Jesus. Putting Him first, then increasing our interest in others while suspending our interest in ourselves. Becoming 3rd. 

God will meet all our material needs, but also all our relationships needs. 

Friends have called the study of human communication all the fluff.

If communication is all fluff, what are relationships?

Communication is a lot like nutrition. We all do it but no one really understands it. 

There are two things we do before we are born, but only one we continue to do long after we pass on. 

If we have been eating and communicating this long shouldn't we all be pictures of health and have perfectly maintained relationships? We are are not and we do not, so it makes sense that we should strive to understand the communication process. That is if we believe that it is more than fluff. 

It was the summer of '69 and I was just shy of my fourth birthday. This is my earlist memory of a complicated communication process and the one that started my life long journey in discovering the human communicaiton process. 

We are made in the image of God. God is relationship. We were made for relationship. He desires nothing more than a relationship with us. 

Why then are relationships so hard?

God has not let us down.

He has given us all that we need for successful, fulfilling relationships with Him and with others.  

Hey Friends, 

Welcome to Be the 3rd podcast where we talk openly and honestly about our interpersonal, intrapersonal, and Divine (prayer) communication process. 

We know that God is god of relationship and being made in His image we then are also made for relationship. As His most precious creation He desires nothing more than to be in relationship with us. We desire nothing more than to be in relationship with others. Our greatest commandment is to love God, but because all humans were made in His image, we are also called to love others. 

Here at Be the 3rd, we emphasize God's design for relationship, God first, others second, ourselves third. 

Relationships are not always easy, but we can rejoice because God has not let us down.  He has given us unique capabilities and special gifts to help in our jouney along with His promise to never leave us. 

Be the 3rd is a reminder that we will find peace in all our relationship stuggles once we remember to put God first, others second, and ourselves third.