Whether you’re 5 or 50, you want people to like you—to pick you for the team, to invite you over for dinner, to remember your birthday, to laugh at your jokes. Yet, many people suffer from isolation, from not being one of the group, from not really belonging. How can you truly be in fellowship with others, be accepted by them? How can you become competent in the ability to get along successfully with people? These Bible verses offer some of the key principles.
1. “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14).
The secret to getting along with other people is love. When you have an attitude of genuine goodwill, it has the effect of binding people to you and creating a state of harmony between them and yourself. When, even unconsciously, you send out an indifferent or cold attitude, it tends to separate you from the group, because instinctively people feel whether you like them or not. So, the first step in getting along with people is to practice genuine love until it becomes second nature.
2. “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth” (1 Samuel 2:3).
The key word expressed here is humility. The psychological fact is that the shrinking person often tends to compensate for his inferiority feelings by arrogant actions and a proud manner. So, although he really isn’t that type of person at heart, he appears to others to be so. The result is that people do not like him. So take care that you do not speak or act arrogantly; instead, cultivate the spiritual virtue of humbleness.
3. “Love one another with brotherly affection: outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10).
This passage urges you to like people so genuinely that you can control your “me first” tendencies and sincerely desire to put others ahead of yourself. Observe those who get along best with people, and you will invariably see that they are always putting the other person first.
Ask God to help you love other people, to free you from your judgmental or argumentative tendencies. Listen to people; show kindness. Treat others the way you want them to treat you…and you will be successful in your relationships.
