Why and how should Christians prioritise seeing the world through a relational lens?
By Michael Schluter, Founder.
Introduction
Without being aware of it, everybody sees the world differently according to their starting point or perspective. Take a simple example: the microwave oven. We may ask the question:
How much does this cost, or how much does it cost to operate? This is to use a financial lens.
We might consider whether cooking food in a microwave sends more or less carbon emissions into the atmosphere. This is to use an environmental lens.
We may ask ourselves whether this will save me time. Will it be tonight a personal convenience to use a microwave this evening? This is to use a personal or individualistic lens as the basis of decision-making.
Or we may consider what impact cooking with a microwave is likely to make on relationships in the household where we live and beyond. This is to use the relational lens.
This choice of lenses does not only apply in our personal lives. It is equally applicable in, for example, the worlds of business and finance, education and healthcare, and in decisions that impact on international relations.
We may wish to look at a product, or a decision, from multiple points of view, and normally we would do this, especially in decisions that are part of public policy decision-making. The issue I'm raising here is which of these perspectives should take priority on a daily basis, whether we are at home, in a work environment, or considering issues being debated in public policy and international relations? Why should Christians prioritise the relational perspective or lens in their decision-making?
Christianity is a ‘relational religion’
Just think about the core ideas and events at the heart of the Christian faith. Christians understand the term ‘God’ to include the three persons of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all existed before the beginning of the world in perfect harmony together. We read in Genesis that a decision was made by the three persons of the Trinity: ‘let us make human beings in our image; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). We know that God is one; however, the Bible also teaches that God is three persons in perfect relationship with one another from the beginning of eternity. Our very existence is created and sustained through the relationship between the three persons of the godhead.
The narrative of the Old Testament is built on a number of terms which all reflect this relationship perspective and priority. Examples include the term ‘covenant’ which is a word describing a particular kind of long-term, committed and faithful relationship (e.g. Genesis 15:4, 5), and the meaning of righteousness in the Old Testament (tsdq) which is about living positively with right relationships rather than only being about absence of guilt in a judicial sense.
In the New Testament, Jesus underlines that we cannot receive forgiveness from God unless we are willing to forgive other people (Matthew 6:14,15). The Cross which is at the very heart of the Christian faith is primarily concerned with the reconciliation of the broken relationship between God and humanity. As Paul explains to Christians in Corinth:
‘God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making his appeal through us’.
Jesus constantly emphasises in his ministry while he is on earth that the good news he brings is concerned with the transformation of relationships that a person has with God and with other people. He teaches that it is love for God and neighbour which summarises the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40); love is a category not of finance and economics but of relationships. Love means ‘other-person-centredness’ (as opposed to self-centredness). Jesus also describes life beyond death in relational terms, ‘now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3). The way that a person becomes a child of God is through receiving Jesus Christ in their hearts (John 1:12). When Jesus watches people putting money into the temple treasury in Jerusalem, he is not impressed by the amount that people give but by the relationship of the giver with God in their hearts (Luke 21:2). Jesus demonstrates in his life and through his teaching what perfect relationships look like.
The Lord is interested in all the relationships that humans enter into. These may be at home or at work; there is no sacred/secular divide. It may also be relationships within and between groups of people, including churches, cities, regions and nations. Examples abound in both the Old Testament and New Testament.[1]
What kind of relationships is God looking for?
As far as a person’s relationships are concerned, he wants us:
to long to know Christ better (Ephesians 1:17; Philippians 3: 7–10)
to love one another as Christians (e.g. John 15:12; Colossians 3: 13–14; 1 John 3:11)
to love our neighbour as we love ourselves (e.g. Matthew 5:43–48, 22:34–40; Luke 10: 25–38; Romans 13:9–10; James 2:8)
to long for righteousness/justice/the good in public life (e.g. Isaiah 59:1–21, Jeremiah 9:22–24; Micah 6:8; Matthew 12 15-24, 23:23; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:11–15)
So the values that God is looking for in a person, a church and a society include holiness, justice, shalom (peace/harmony), forgiveness, faithfulness, truth, hope and love (in the sense of other-person-centredness’. This contrasts with our present society’s emphasis on priorities of personal choice, freedom, equality, security, individual rights, and economic growth.
How can Christians help to make society more relational?
What follows is a brief outline of some proposals for Christians to consider.
Firstly, we need to examine our own priorities and perspectives to achieve a personal transformation. Against the cultural trend to maximise freedom and focus on personal convenience, we need to learn to think through the key relationships in which our lives are embedded: to repent where relationships have gone wrong and to seek reconciliation with those from whom we are estranged, including those within our immediate families, our relatives, our work colleagues and our neighbours.
Secondly, we need to bring to the attention of those who represent us in local and national affairs, especially our local councillors and MPs, to pay greater attention to the impact of local or national decisions on relationships within families and communities, as well as to prioritise the ‘relational welfare’ of asylum seekers by, for example, allowing close relatives of immigrants to be able to join them in the UK. We need to lobby to make family policy a priority of governments, defining family not just as immediate family but to include the extended family as well. Family relationships are a priority because they represent for most people their closest, longest and deepest relationships.
This suggests a Copernican revolution needs to happen at the heart of government Copernicus was a Polish scientist who came up with the idea, judged by his colleagues at the time as laughable, that the earth goes round the sun – not that the sun goes round the earth as seems self-evident to observers. In a similar way, we need to pray and seek to change the perspective of politicians to realise that the wellbeing of the individual and of society depends not on wealth or income, but on the quality of relationships in their immediate and extended families, their communities and in society more widely.
Perhaps a start on this Copernican revolution would be to have a Minister for the Extended Family in the Cabinet; to require family and community impact assessments on all proposed legislation, just as financial implications of proposed legislation are appended to the proposal for it.
The Jubilee Centre, in partnership with Sallux, is planning to host a webinar with Dr. Michael Schluter on the topic of ‘Why and how should Christians prioritise seeing the world through a relational lens?’ on Monday, July 15th 2024 at 7:30pm, UK time. If you would like to participate, please email r.alarcon@jubilee-centre.org for log-in details.
The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Jubilee Centre or its trustees.
__________________________________
[1] See for example: Relationships within and between groups, churches, cities, regions and nations, and these groups’ relationships with God (e.g. Gen 19: 1-29; Is 9:21, 11: 13, 58: 6-9; Ezek 16: 19-52; Amos chs 1&2; Lk 11: 37-53; Lk 13: 34; Rev chs 2 & 3, etc)
