How many times to we have relationships where the deepest questions you get are "What do you think of the weather today?", or "What did you think about the game last night?" - These relationships are "miles wide and only inches deep" - Stan Buck in his Memorial Day message.
He challenges us with the question, "Are you willing to sacrifice to build strong relationships?"
Are you willing to sacrifice:
- Time?
- Superficiality?
- Your own agenda?
- Pride?
I could use some improvement in all these areas of sacrifice. My biggest area may be in the area of superficiality. It's easy to ask the questions about sports and the weather, but when someone asks you the question, "How are you doing?", how often do we say "fine", when we aren't really fine. And, turning it around, how many times do you ask that question of someone else? Maybe when you think about that question in our deeper relationships, we should be asking "How are you doing...REALLY?" and be prepared to sacrifice our time, superficiality, agenda, and pride, to REALLY listen to our closest relationships' needs and wants...
Who are you going to ask that question to this week: "How are you doing, REALLY?"
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I often share that when people say, "How are you doing" they don't really care. It is a greeting, and that' fine. The tragedy is that we rarely ask and really care about the other person's situation.
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