Interpersonal Communication and Personal Growth: A Christian Perspective
Interpersonal Communication and Personal Growth
“The main barrier to interpersonal communication is our tendency to judge others, to approve or disapprove of what the other person says” (Carl Rogers).
Attitudes for Effective Interpersonal Communication
Conversely, four basic attitudes contribute to effective interpersonal communication, such as good group work:
- Look with sympathy at each of the members of the group.
- Think of others as well as, at least, like yourself.
- Look at yourself with pleasure.
- Take seriously what you are going to perform and aim to go to the essentials.
And to do:
- Talk honestly, avoiding hypocrisy. Be free.
- Master your own voice:
- Not too timid; you are worth it, you have a word to say, you are a person.
- Not too strongly: the truth stands on its own.
- Of course, do not forget you can also be wrong.
- Listen to others, be really interested in what they say, strive to understand their inner world.
- Do not restrict the freedom of others with ridicule, laughter, or interruptions. Wait for the other person to finish exposing their thinking.
- Do not monopolize the floor with questions and answers. Seek to go to the basics and not get lost in too much verbiage.
- Do not start apologizing or diminishing yourself. Obviously, we all have our limitations; we all have the right to make mistakes.
Group Integration Blockers
Endeavor to avoid, therefore, “poses” or “prototypes” that are true integration blockers of the group:
- The eternal questioner.
- The “contrarian” by system.
- The stubborn fool.
- The mute volunteer.
- The perpetually outdated (now doing math, while the task is writing).
- The one who always insists on being “funny”.
- The one who looks at you smugly/with superiority. “Know-it-all” and proud.
- He (or she) who is talkative: prolongs interventions unnecessarily and systematically.
- The navel of the world: he/she wants to always get noticed and be the center of the conversation.
Fundamental Beliefs
- None are so rich that they cannot receive something, and no one is so poor that they cannot give.
- Before God, all are equal; we are entitled to be respected. No one is more than another.
The Values We Possess
The Value of Each Person
The “value” of each of us is:
- Being a person.
- Being a person chosen and loved by God.
- Destined to live forever.
Each of us has to be convinced that we are worth something before God. Therefore, “I am worth something” for myself. “I have gifts” that are personal. “I can enrich others” and “I will not be ashamed to express myself.”
On the other hand, everyone has to learn respect for others:
- External respect.
- Internal respect.
Maturity as a Person
Being a person means moving towards full maturity. Maturity is a quality of a personality that has achieved a number of important features:
- A trend towards stability and balance.
- The ability to continue doing work, to persevere in it, and to have done your best.
- The determination to give the best of oneself, the willingness to do more than what is called for out of obligation in a given situation.
- The quality that causes others to trust one, which is to deserve and earn the trust of others.
- Persistence in the struggle to achieve a goal beyond all the difficulties that occur.
- Tolerance and patience with others and oneself in unpleasant situations, discomfort, and frustration.
- The ability to confront and solve problems and make appropriate personal decisions.
- A firm determination of the will to cooperate.
Recognizing the Presence of Jesus Among Us
To recognize His gifts and open ourselves to the transforming action, accepting it as “sap” allows us to discover and internalize the values during these sessions, so you can pay off.
Jesus Says:
“I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. Every branch that bears no fruit he cuts off, and those who bear fruit he cleans to give more. You are already clean because of the message we have communicated. Stay with me; I will follow you. If a branch is not attached to the vine, it cannot bear fruit. Neither can you unless you are with me. I am the vine; you are the branches.”
“If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15: 1-8).
Method for Studying a Biblical Text as a Team
- PRODUCE: Create a new expression of the text: drawings, performance, song, poetry.
- UNDERLINE: Highlight keywords, for example, nouns, verbs.
- ANALYZE: Oppositions – Repetitions. Compare with other texts.
- INTERPRET AND UPDATE: What does it mean for us? How to apply it to our lives? Each person should freely express what calls their attention to the text.
Our Aspiration to Happiness
- Is happiness fully attainable in this world? Why?
- Can a happy person be realistic? Why?
- Can one be happy living in subhuman conditions?
- Does God want us to be happy? What is happiness? At what price?
- Do you recognize when a person pretends to be happy? When, how, and in what way?
- Can joy be shared? When? How?
- Does a Christian have the right to be sad? When? Why?
- Have you changed your concept of happiness in life? When? How? Why?
- Are you happy? What do you need to be happy?
- What do you recommend to your friend to be happy?
Levels of Happiness
- Possession of material goods: food, comfort, titles.
- Possession of non-material goods: friendship, contemplation of something beautiful, something soothing.
- Giving oneself to others for good.
Happiness is not pursued; it is lived. “It is a way to travel.” Happiness is a result of a person’s conduct within the plan of God.
The Christian Forms of Being a Person
- Live and be a protagonist of one’s own story.
- Accept Christ as Savior in your life and join Him.
- Actively participate in building the Kingdom of God in this world.
Our Dignity as Persons
Premises to Avoid Being a Person
- Do not think.
- Do not love.
- Do not feel.
- Do not act.
- Do not risk it.
- Do not experiment.
- Do not do anything wrong in what you can.
- God? Remove Him if He gets in your way; use Him if He helps!
Examples of Lack of Respect for the Dignity of the Person in Public Life
- When an official or a party does not owe his position to the voters but to fraud, corruption, or favoritism.
- When the conservation of a position does not depend on the will of the voters but on political or military power.
- When a party or an official does not act to meet the expectations of citizens but to retain power at any cost.
- When electoral fraud is institutionalized or encouraged, which means:
- Vote tampering.
- Pressure on bureaucrats, soldiers, or peasants to vote for a particular party, through threats or promises.
- Pressure on citizens, offering services that should usually be provided by the government.
- Putting all or nearly all social media at the service of one party while silencing information on other parties or candidates.
- Diverting public funds to cover expenses of a particular party’s political campaigns.
- Linking intermediary organizations, which by their nature should be independent, such as trade unions, to a particular party for partisan or electoral purposes.
The Dignity of the Person
The dignity of the person is a result of their existence, and the person is not only a something but a someone, and this someone can be free, love, transcend, and live forever.
The person is a subject worthy of being an object and should always be treated as a subject. From the Christian faith, we find that humans have been dignified as creatures of God, made in His image and likeness, saved by Christ, and made partakers of the same divinity for the gift of the Holy Spirit.