Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Relationships which take you away from God, make you sin against God
and other people are not beneficial relationships. Take for instance Amnon, the
first son of King David and his cousin and friend, Jonadab. Rather than give
wise and godly counsel to Amnon regarding his supposedly affection for Tamar,
he advised Amnon to deceive and rape his own sister. Amnon also did not weigh
the implications of such an action. So without thinking, consulting someone
else for a second opinion, he acted and consequently lost his young life and
position to the throne as Absalom, the enraged brother of Tamar refused to
forgive Amnon’s stupidity.
Absalom killed Amnon for defiling and humiliating his sister. Compare
the ungodly counsel of Jonadab whom the Bible describes as a very crafty man to
the very godly and wise counsel of Naomi to Ruth to approach Boaz as their next
of kin for her redemption as a widow of one of Naomi’s sons. Because everything
was done in a godly manner, Ruth ended up as Boaz’ wife, fulfilled divine
purpose and was a blessing to Naomi. The birth of Obed brought untold joy to
Naomi as she helped to nurse the young man, an ancestor of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Samson’s unfortunate liaison with Delilah cost him the grace of God
upon his life.
Rahab chose to align with the people of God. She alongside members of
her family were saved and entered the Promised Land to enjoy the rest of God.
Mary Magdalene chose to follow and worship Jesus Christ. She remains
globally famous despite coming from a negative past. Her decision to follow
Jesus Christ cancelled out the negative past.
Zacchaeus was a tax collector and hated by most people. That is not a surprise. Most people including yours truly have no love for tax collectors especially the ones who are dishonest and are always looking for ways to steal from the people. But the moment Zacchaeus turned to Jesus and established a great loving relationship with Jesus, all that changed.
The audacious woman of Samaria had quite a past yet she is one of the
most likable Bible characters. Her relationship with Jesus Christ, her
transparent honesty and the fact that she spoke boldly with Jesus Christ and
then took the gospel to the city of Samaria speaks volumes of her great love of
people. She succeeded in evangelizing the city of Samaria with her testimony.
Amazed at her sudden transformation, the men of the city went in search of
Jesus Christ and invited Him to Samaria. Quite significant and instructive is
the fact that Jesus Christ spent two days in Samaria and the people turned over
their lives to Christ. A woman’s decision to invest her life in the right
relationship turned a whole city to God.
Beloved, can you imagine the blessings that would accrue to the people
and the city thereafter. Positive godly relationships bring blessings while
negative and ungodly relationships bring suffering and hardship.
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