Relationship Goals: 4 Characteristics to Strive For
Let’s talk about what makes a relationship truly healthy and strong. Here are the top five characteristics of a healthy relationship, straight from the Bible:
Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of and manage your own emotions, as well as empathize with and interact with others. It helps you navigate conflicts and challenges healthily and constructively.
Ultimately, it helps you to understand your partner more and relate with kindness instead of cruelty in the event of weaknesses.
According to Journal of Family Psychology, Couples with high emotional intelligence have a 50% lower chance of divorce
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
2. Keep Talking.
Communication is everything! Lovers are never muted. They keep talking, they have learned to disagree without being disagreeable and to be sweethearts regardless of opinions.
Couples who communicate effectively have a 70% higher chance of resolving conflicts successfully.
Gloria Copeland said “Communication is the lifeblood of any relationship. Without it, the relationship will die.”
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6)
3. Compromise and Flexibility.
Rigidity is the hallmark of fools. Listen to your partner. You are not a statue. Don´t be a dried fish, be fresh all the time and be malleable within a scriptural context.
No one gets their way all the time. Learn to compromise and be flexible in your relationship, finding solutions that work for both partners.
Oretha Hagin said, “Compromise is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength and maturity.”
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment (Romans 12:3)
4. Trust and Honesty
Trust is the glue that binds friends together and the thread that weaves lovers into a beautiful partnership.
Trust and honesty are essential in building a strong and healthy relationship. Be truthful and transparent in your interactions, and work to establish and maintain trust.
Don’t break trust continually, or else you have nothing to show for it after a while!
Kenneth Copeland said “Trust is the foundation of any relationship. Without trust, you have nothing.”
Trust will keep your relationship and marriage on track!
Pro 11:3 (MSG) The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.
This will help singles know what to look for and help couples know what to pray for concerning their spouses.
Lovebirds! Before you tie the knot, it’s essential to know about marriage. Here are the top ten things to know before saying “I do” – and we’re keeping it real with some scripture to back it up!
Communication is Key
Is your communication top-notch, or does your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth when you are together? If you cannot bear your mind in their presence, don’t go ahead!
Are you already married, and you have this issue? Work on it, pray about it, and seek therapy! Things like that don’t improve on their own. Thankfully, Kisses and Huggs Club offers therapy!
Col 4:6 (MSG) Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.
Marriage is a Partnership
Marriage is a 50/50 partnership, not a 100/0 dictatorship. Understand that compromise and teamwork are essential in navigating life’s challenges together.
If you can’t handle some imperfection, if you can’t forgive, if you have uncontrollable anger tantrums, don’t marry! Stay single! Two are meant to get better, not bitter!
Ecc 4:9 (MSG) It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth.
Independence is Important.
You are one flesh, but you have two personalities and two different minds! Marriage should not swallow your individuality, intellect, and reasoning. Love your wife, respect your husband but develop your career and support yourselves.
Have a life and have some hobbies, but ensure you also have hobbies that bring you together and foster your togetherness.
Dear ladies; run away from feminism; it’s from the pit of hell.
Respect is Non-Negotiable
Mutual respect is vital in a marriage. Treat each other with kindness, compassion, and understanding, even in difficult times. Especially for men, respect is such a major issue.
I usually tell ladies, if you can’t respect that man, don’t bother to marry him!
There you have it, dear singles and couples! By knowing these few things before saying “I do,” you’ll be better equipped to build a happy, healthy, and fulfilling marriage. Remember, marriage is a partnership, and with love, respect, and commitment, you can overcome any obstacle that comes your way.
This is an interesting topic, and I want everyone to go along with me. This is the topic of Steve Harvey’s best-selling book, and it is still very relevant today.
Basically, we will be looking at two aspects of this topic: 1. How to behave like a woman 2. We will be delving into a little bit of how men think. Women need to understand how men think in order to live successfully with them and be able to get the best of men.
First, let us deal with how a lady or a woman should act.
Let’s look at how God fashioned or created the woman.
Genesis 2:21-23 NIV [21] So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. [22] Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. [23] The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
Before the woman was created, she was needed to meet the particular needs of the man. She was created from the finest bone and smoothest bone of the man. She was made out of the man’s rib. The Bible says God put the man to sleep. There is a mystery about women that only God understands.
No wonder when the man woke up he could only explain, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘Woman’.” I believe there is something about every woman that should make men go, “Wow.” The shape, style, posture, hips, face, smiles, hair, nose, nails, breast, and everything about the woman.
A woman is meant to be beautiful inside and outside. Somebody rightly said, “Women are created for hugs and kisses, to be pampered and cherished, not for punches.”
Here is a ten-point advice for singles and younger couples from a perspective of 20+ years of marriage:
Commit to lifelong faithfulness. Make your vows before God and keep them through thick and thin. Fidelity and loyalty are what will see married couples through in all seasons of life. Even as singles, beware of someone who is already cheating on you. They will not likely change
Be besties for life! A happy marriage is built on the foundation of a deep and abiding friendship. Make time each day to connect, laugh together, and be each other’s best friend. Don’t marry someone who is not a friend!
Two are better than one…if one falls down, his friend can help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Communicate respectfully. Listen to understand each other, not just reply. Handle discussions and disagreements with care, respect and keep it like your lives depend on it.
Be flexible. No one always gets their way so meet halfway when you don’t see eye to eye. Focus on understanding each other, not being right.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
Forgive and forget. Resentments poison relationships. When mistakes come up, go with mercy and leave the past in the past.
Pray together daily. God must be at the center of a Christian marriage for guidance, provision, and keeping you united in purpose.
Practice acts of service. Look for ways to lighten each other’s load through selflessness instead of entitlement. Consider your lover more important than self.
Be quick to affirm, slow to criticize. Appreciation and validation strengthen the bond between a husband and wife more than criticism ever can.
Manage money responsibly. Harmony in finances prevents stress and arguments. Agree on a budget, save for the future, and hold accountability.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation…which plunge them into ruin and destruction.” 1 Timothy 6:9-10
Enjoy each moment together. Even when busy, carve out time to connect, have fun and cherish this partnership as God’s gift. Cherish each other always.
1. Focus on developing your relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. As traditional as that may sound, never despise meetings in church.
Hebrews 10:25 (NLT): And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
2. Work on becoming the best version of yourself – mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Keep on developing capacity!
Romans 12:2 (NIV): Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
3. Guard your heart and steer clear of empty relationships, compare dating standards to God’s.
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT): “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
4. Use dating apps prayerfully if desired but don’t obsess – connect in real life with wisdom and patience.
Proverbs 19:11 (NLT): Common sense is a fountain of life to those who embrace it, but discipline is wasted on fools.
5. Pray daily for your future spouse.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT): Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
For Couples:
6. Be particular about intimacy through meaningful conversations beyond daily logistics and make time for romantic exploring.
Song of Solomon 2:3-6 (NLT): Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Strengthen me with raisins and refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
7. Protect your union from temptation and harmful influences that threaten oneness through social media, spending, or unwise friendships.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NLT): Avoid every kind of evil.
8. Communicate affection through generosity of word, action and non-sexual touch to foster deep bonding.
Ephesians 4:29-31 (NLT): Don’t use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. And do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed for the day of redemption. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.
9. Resolve conflicts respectfully through active listening, humility, repentance and compromise instead of aggressive reactions.
Proverbs 15:1 (NLT): A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.
10. Pray together daily for vision, strength, and blessings upon your family
Eph 3:14 (MSG) My response is to get down on my knees before the Father,
