I have said it before and I want to say it again:  We were created for relationship; with our creator, and with others.  In fact, when asked which law was most important out of the hundreds and hundreds of laws the children of Israel had, Jesus answered that it was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Luke 10:27) Every relationship we have is summed up in that statement!  And, for those two things to be singled out from all the laws known to man shows just how serious this matter of relationships really is.  I am so passionate about sharing the information I have been sharing with you because I believe it is the key to all of life!  Let me share with you why.

First, let me say that I believe that part of our frustration in relationships comes because we get the sequence of Jesus’ answer all wrong.  He said that our first love has to be God.  He was the one who created us.  He is our Heavenly Father; we are His children.  He has a family connection to us and as the father of our family, He is the supreme authority who deserves to be listened to, respected, and obeyed.  He deserves to be loved because He is a father who loves us more than we can even begin to comprehend, and He always (whether we believe it or not) has our best interest at heart.

If you are a parent, you can identify with that parent/child relationship and you know that your own children have often balked at your authority or not understood your dictates being in their best interest.  When they desperately want to do something that you know would be harmful to them, you must say no.  No is not an answer that is readily and happily accepted.  In fact, the ensuing tantrums can be quite intense!  We want our children to love, respect, and trust us enough to follow our leadership.  God is no different and deserves no less!

Jesus’ answer then says that we are to love others as we do ourselves.  “As yourself” infers that we must love ourselves first before we can love others.  We often get that backwards.  We try to love others when we don’t love, understand, nor accept ourselves.  It just doesn’t work that way!

So, here’s my point in all of this and the reason I am so passionate about helping you to understand this DISC information.  When we really understand who we are and how we were designed, we are able to celebrate our uniqueness.  We are able to embrace the fact that everything ever created was created with a usefulness and purpose in mind.  And, we are drawn in reverence, awe, and love to the One who created us.  When we fully appreciate our design, we seek Him to understand the purpose for which we were created.  We love Him because He first loved us.  That’s the kind of relationship we are to have with Him.

When we are able to understand, accept and celebrate who we are, we are then more able to understand, appreciate and celebrate others.  But, the order has to be right:  God, first; ourselves, second; and then, others.

The DISC Model of Human Behavior is a tool that will help us in all of our relationships.  And, Jesus was sent here to be our mentor and to model how we should relate in each of those relationships.  He did it perfectly!  He related perfectly to His Father; He knew who He was; He knew what His purpose was; and He adjusted His style of communication in each and every situation to connect effectively with those with whom He interacted.

Knowing, understanding, and applying the personality information increases our chances of success in all of our relationships when we get the sequence of that scripture in the correct order and follow the example of Jesus in relating to others.

I so passionately want you to “get it” and I hope you do!

If you would like more in-depth information about personality styles, or would like to find out more about your own, visit my website at www.align90.com.  And, if you have a women’s group, business or ministry team who would benefit from learning more about how to effectively work together, I would love to work with you!