Friday of 15th Week, Year II: reflection
Theme: The power of Relationship Capital in our affair with God
Reading: Is 38:1–6.21–22:7–8
In human relationships, it is advocated that the parties involved do everything possible to build relationship capitals in one another. Relationship capital is the value created through building and maintaining or nurturing good relationship with people over time. This may be accomplished by consistently adhering to the rule of reciprocity, pursuing the wellbeing of partners, providing value to their lives, assisting them in achieving their objectives, meeting them at their various points of need, and so on.
These relationship capitals function like a bank. As we deposit money into our bank accounts and fall back on them when we are in need, we likewise deposit positive behaviors/impressions in our friends, thereby building a capital or trust base in them. We fall back on these capitals when we make appeals to our friends; our friends also fall back on these capitals to consider or reconsider their actions towards us, especially when there are issues in the relationship.
The first reading of today tells us that there should also be a relationship capital in our relationship with God, and that such capital can help us to attract God’s intervention in our difficult moments. King Hezekiah was sick and has been told by the prophet that he will die. But then, he turned to God in prayers and reminded Him how faithful he had walked before Him, the good things he did for Him and for the people. God answered him, healed him and prolonged his life.
Dear friends, let not our relationship bank be empty in our affair with God. By being upright before God and sincerely making good impacts in peoples’ lives, we fill our relationship bank with goodies in our affair with God (the same should also happen in our affairs with human friends), goodies we can fall back on when we pray to God in times of troubles. So, start today to invest in your relationship with God.
May God’s grace lead and guide you in today’s activities.
Fr Isaac Chima