Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Escape Plan

My wife & I are big fans of the show "Burn Notice." We love the action, the character development, and the unique approach to handling conflict and conspiracy theories. We joke with each other about how our lives are different from watching the show as I can now enter a room, quickly identify the exits, decide what in the room can be used as a weapon, and determine the angles that potential threats might attack from. It might prove to be a useful life skill at some point and certainly takes me up a notch on the tough-guy scale if I can pull it off. These acquired abilities would definitely make me a better spy (and hard-core pastor) but they can be devastating when they are applied to our relationships.

I have unfortunately witnessed the post-traumatic fallout of relationships gone awry from intentional (and unintentional) damage. The moment people walk into commitment they start identifying ways to escape instead of methods that guarantee success, are increasingly wary of threats instead of thinking the best of the other person, and are immediately on the offensive with weapons shaped by our words, attitudes, and actions. It makes for good television, but it is far from the best way to build a healthy relationship with people that we care about.

No comments:

Post a Comment