What I mean by “relationships”

Someone once asked me, “So, are you in a relationship?”

I knew what she meant. “No,” I said.

What I didn’t fully know is what I meant. I understand that “relationship” means guy/girl or man/woman, intimate, romantic. Got it. But I’ve also heard a godbillion times that God wants a personal relationship with me. And what about a relationships between friends?

“Relationship” is a loaded word. It can mean so many different things in different contexts. That’s why I’m trying to explain some of what I mean when I say it.

What I mean by “relationship” is broader than the typical “Are you in a relationship?” definition. On this site, relationships mean people, usually one on one. For example:

  • Romance counts.
  • Family counts.
  • Friendship counts.

[For you fellow economist nerds out there, the relationship between supply and demand doesn’t count. :) ]

The emotional connection measure

I measure the depth of relationships by their emotional connection. Proximity and genealogies can affect that emotional connection, but they don’t have to.

  • Online relationships count just as much as offline relationships. I no longer distinguish between friends just because I’ve not physically met some some of them.
  • Friendship relationships count just as much as “blood” relationships. Family relationships perhaps should be deeper than friendships, but I don’t automatically say they are just because of a family tree.

Relationships at bondChristian

bondChristian is a social project. Serving others, by definition, is about people. So relationships are important, perhaps more important here than at other Christian websites where the emphasis is more personal and devotional.

In a way, everything here is about relationships. Does that mean then that everything written here falls into this category? Not really. When you click the “relationships” category up top, you’ll find posts that deal specifically with one on one relationships:

  • Jesus/person
  • Husband/wife
  • Parents/child
  • Sister/brother
  • Friend/friend
  • Professor/student
  • Employer/Employee
  • Master/slave

And so on – you get the idea. Also, some of these include negative relationships (like friend/enemy) or any other combination of one on one interaction.

That’s what relationships here are all about. They’re about the one on one connection and interaction between people and how we cultivate them, not just romantic connections. (If you’re looking for articles about relationships involving more than two people, try the Church or Outreach categories.)

Friends and guest posts

While we’re on the subject, let me point you to a couple of my friends.

I found Justin Grice’s site, Christian in College, in 2008. At the time, I was a Christian in college, so that seemed like a sweet fit. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him on and off since then. This week I actually wrote a guest post for his blog called “The extraordinary opportunity for college friending.” Check it out, and get to know the site and Justin.

I hooked up with Landry Glaubemann just this past month. You might recognize him from the comments here. Last week, he asked if I would write some guest posts for his blog. I didn’t know if I’d be able to find the time to write many, but somehow it worked out. Landry lives in Germany and, as you might know, I’m in beautiful Louisville, Kentucky. It’s been a lot of fun connecting with him. You can check out the first three posts in my “Thankfulness Matters” series at his blog here:

Serving Suggestions:

(1) What do you mean by “relationships”? Does your definition switch depending on the context? How? Let us know in the comments.

(2) Check out the guest posts and the sites. Leave comments. And enjoy your weekend.