To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6fXx7HXRkQE
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to Episode 205 of the Hope Rescue Podcast! This week marks the sixth installment of our series on vital character traits for cultivating healthy relationships. In our last episode, we examined optimism, and today, our focus turns to the topic of flexibility.
Colossians 3:12-14 serves as our anchor verse for this discussion, and it says "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." The term "bearing" in this context implies enduring, exercising patience, and demonstrating tolerance. Being flexible in our relationships involves practicing patience and tolerance, acknowledging the diversity of opinions and approaches among us.
Intolerance and impatience towards others often lead to distancing. Achieving the "perfect harmony" mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Colossians requires a level of tolerance and flexibility with one another.
While aspiring to be flexible in our relationships, it's essential to discern between healthy and unhealthy flexibility. Unhealthy flexibility may involve compromising one's voice or opinion excessively. Feeling compelled to accommodate others to the extent of suppressing one's own perspectives, especially when it could prevent harm, is a form of flexibility taken to a fault.
Another sign of unhealthy flexibility is acquiescence, the reluctant acceptance of something without protest. Unhealthy flexibility occurs when one person assumes a bullying role, and the other overly accommodates to sidestep conflict.
On the flip side, healthy flexibility is synonymous with strength under stress. A flexible mindset equips us to navigate the inevitable changes in life, such as career shifts, changes in residence, financial setbacks, and health challenges.
So, how do we cultivate a flexible mindset?
Analyze What is Essential: Differentiate between what you can flex on and what requires standing your ground. Don't let minor issues overshadow the bigger picture.
Lean into Sympathy: Make sympathy your default in relationships. Even when you disagree, strive to understand and sympathize with others.
Listen with Humility: Create a safe space for others to express themselves, even if their views differ from yours.
Understand the Limitations of Time and the Extent of Eternity: Adopt an eternal perspective to prioritize what truly matters in the grand scheme of life.
Release Bitterness: Forgiveness, even when unsolicited, fosters flexibility and liberation.
Submit to Each Other as Unto God: Embrace the call to submit to one another, prioritizing others and remaining flexible with their flaws.
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