KEEPING IT REAL – Episode 6
Navigating the Murky Waters of Social Interaction

As we gradually come to the end of our
Keeping it Real series, we need to take time to individually reflect over all the episodes that have been covered and begin to look out for personal lessons and application in various areas of our lives.

Today we are going to be looking at how to navigate the murky waters of social interactions as we pay attention to encountering difficult people and periodical desire to change people consciously or unconsciously, as we still consider the experiences of Jonah Amittai as our case study.

Our Reference this week is from: Jonah 1:1-3(MSG) One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer. But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God…
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

Jonah 3:4-10(NIV) 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth….10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

God created us to live life interdependent with each other. Like we said last week, life in isolation would have been a boring, uneventful and unexciting place.
Real Christians don’t live in isolation, they integrate into the social system of whatsoever community they find themselves so they can spread the kingdom influence in such social circle.

However, as we engage in various forms of social interactions based on either personal decisions or divine leading, we go through some murky waters, as we encounter people that we term “difficult people”.

Jonah Amittai wanted to avoid any form of social interaction with the people at Nineveh, even though God instructed him to do so, because he already considered them “difficult people” and really wanted God to destroy them.
Sometimes, God intentionally plant difficult people in our way for a purpose…people we really don’t want to have anything to do with either as a result of temperamental or value differences.

First you need to consider that even you may be a difficult person to someone else…we are difficult people to each other in various degrees. This is why God tells us in Ephesians 4:2 - Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Secondly, ability to manage your emotions and remain calm when under pressure from difficult people is very critical. Some steps you can take in this regards include:
*Set limits (both internal and external),
*Rise above their level/pettiness,
*Emotional awareness,
*Don’t die in the fight – know when to back out,
*Don't focus on problems - only solutions and be refreshed.

Further, in navigating the murky waters of social interaction, we have to realize we can do little or nothing to change people. We need to realize that it is only God that has the ability to absolutely change people.

Sometimes when we force that change from our perspective, people only end up pretending with us.
Do you think Jonah’s message of “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” Was what really changed them? God did!

In our quest to “change people” we must first establish the love factor and find out if our intentions are selfish.
Remember that “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.”

At the end of the day, we are only responsible for ourselves. The only thoughts and actions we have control over are our own.

After establishing the love factor, we need to realize we can’t really change people, but instead, we can connect to the ones one made them and have their codes –God.

REFLECTIONS:
*God knows that we will have to walk through the murky waters of social interactions, yet he never want us to be isolated from the social system we find ourselves in.
*Is there any difficult person you have noticed in your social circle? What are the steps you will take with your social interaction when you are in touch with them?

Always remember to Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.


Have a great week being humble,gentle and patient; bearing with one another in love. Blessings.

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday 23rd July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* Are you avoiding someone because of temperamental differences? Eph. 4:2

*Notes/Prayers:* Father, help me to realize that everybody can't be me. Help me to appreciate human diversity. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday 24th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* Am I a difficult person to someone else?
Matthew 7:1

*Notes/Prayers:* Lord, help me to see areas I need to change with respect to my social interactions. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday 25th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* When interacting with difficult people focus more on the solution than the problems. Matthew 5:14

*Notes/Prayers:* Father help me not to get so focused on the negativity in people, instead help me to be solution oriented. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Friday 26th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* We need to realize that it is only God that has the ability to absolutely change people. Ezekiel 36:26

*Notes/Prayers:* Lord, help me in my social interaction to realize you are the only one that can really change people. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Saturday 27th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* At the end of the day, we are only responsible for ourselves. The only thoughts and actions we have control over are our own.

*Notes/Prayers:* Dear Lord, help me to take personal responsibility for my life. Help me to know where to draw the line in my quest to help people become their best. Amen.

KEEPING IT REAL-MAINTAINING EQUILIBRIUM
– Series Review
A Case Study of Jonah Ammitai(Reference: Jonah 1-4)

It’s been such an amazing and insightful experience in our Keeping it Real series, necessity demands that we individually reflect over all the episodes that have been covered and begin to look out for personal lessons and application in various areas of our lives.

Review Week 1: KEEPING IT REAL- MAINTAINING EQUILIBRIUM
Jonah 1:1-3(MSG) One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer. But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God…

Jonah Amittai is a biblical example of one who kept it real while relating with God, even though he prioritized his feelings, opinions and prejudice at the expense of God’s message and instruction. Jonah was real, his relationship with God was premised on the understanding of the Person of God. This is a crucial lesson we can mirror and relate with from the life of Jonah.

Review Week 2: TAKE ACTION
The story of Jonah Amittai offers great insight into how expedient it is to act on instructions however way it comes and in whichever state it meets us. We must not take for granted the fact that our actions and inactions come with consequences whether positive or negative.
Also, we must know that God won’t charge us with a responsibility He knows is more than what we can handle neither would He require us to undertake a task if He hasn’t armed us with every resource (physical, human and economic) to get it done.

Review Week 3: The Strategist, The Centerpiece and The Blueprint.
The centerpiece is the link between the Strategist and His blueprint and so her importance cannot be ignored. In the case of Jonah Amittai, God being the Strategist had a blueprint (to save that big city called Nineveh), of which Jonah was critical to executing that plan.
Every human being is precious and important to God. God is faultless, He is not wasteful, He knows all and sees the deepest part of your heart and He designed you for a purpose.
God, the Master Strategist has the grand plan of restoring all of humanity to himself of which a centerpiece(YOU) is needed to carry out that plan. 1Tim. 2:4-5 (CEV).

Review Week 4: PROCESSING THE PROCESS
Every aspect of the human journey has been pre-ordained by God. All experiences, challenges, successes, failures, wins, losses, etc. are all designed as parts of a bigger picture. God is not haphazard in all that He does. He arranged the world, humans, and our experiences with so much precision, and, it is all out of love, and for our good.
It takes faith to see this and to approach life from this point. We must therefore develop a lasting and working relationship with God in His Word, prayer, and fellowship with His other children. So, we must live our lives with the understanding that our experiences are essential parts of a bigger picture.

Review Week 5: SEEING BEYOND YOU
The world is a social enterprise, hence it is important to cultivate a global perspective of constantly seeing things beyond you. You must come to know that it’s never about you. Jonah refused to pay attention to the purpose of the message; he was overtly focused on himself, his safety and his prejudice about the people of Nineveh but God humbled him by the experiences he went through even and after he heeded God’s instructions.
As it was with Jonah, so it is with us. God engineers the process and experiences of our life to align our perspectives with His, He would have us come to the realization that our lives is beyond us. Even Jonah’s disobedience was part of a grand plan to save him, the people on the ship to Tarshish who may never have had the opportunity to know God and the great city of Nineveh.

Review Week 6: Navigating the Murky Waters of Social Interaction
God created us to live life interdependent of each other. Real Christians don’t live in isolation; they integrate into the social system of whatsoever community they find themselves so they can spread the kingdom influence in such social circle.
Jonah Amittai wanted to avoid any form of social interaction with the people at Nineveh, even though God instructed him to do so, because he already considered them “difficult people” and really wanted God to destroy them.
Sometimes God intentionally plant difficult people in our way for a purpose…people we really don’t want to have anything to do with either as a result of temperamental or value differences.
Furthermore, in navigating the murky waters of social interaction, we have to realize that we can do little or nothing to change people. We need to realize that it is only God that has the ability to absolutely change people. It is also important we prioritize “the love factor” as we navigating the murky waters of social interaction.

This is the concluding part of this series. However, we will still have our daily reflections this week.

Thank you for following us through this series. We will appreciate your comments on ways you have been impacted in this series.

Have a great life keeping it real but maintaining equilibrium. Blessings.

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Monday 29th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* God desires to communicate with you, He knows what you don't yet know about you. Be real with Him.

*Notes/Prayers:* Lord, help me to relate with You just as I am, help me to be real as I advance in my Christian walk. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday 30th July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* The impact of the choices you make goes a long way. Your actions and inactions have consequences.

*Notes/Prayers:* Father, help me to always realize the impact of my actions on those in my circle of concern. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday 31st July 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* You're precious and important to God. He designed you with a purpose in mind.

*Notes/Prayers:*Lord, help me to see myself the way You see me and to acknowledge every good thing I have in You. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday 1st August 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* Usually, our life's purpose is beyond us. Obeying God will save nations of the earth.

*Notes/Prayers:* Father, help me always open myself to Your purposes for me and my generation. Amen

```Focus For Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Saturday 3rd August 2019```

*Focus/Reflection:* We need to realize that it is only God that has the ability to absolutely change people. Ezekiel 36:26

*Notes/Prayers:* Lord, help me in my social interaction to realize You are the one that can really change people. Amen

This series has officially ended. Thanks for following us through it. We believe you have been enlightened.

Watch out for our next series- Living With Margin. It will be another explosive and enlightening series. Please stay tuned.

We would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thanks