Greeting One Another (Initial Contact – chapter 5 p.59-63)
Greet one another with a holy kiss. (2 Corinthians 13:12 ESV)
[there are 5 greetings in the New Testament that reference a “kiss”]
Greet each other with Christian love. (2 Corinthians 13:12 NLT)
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie (p. 59)
Greetings in the South, generally, and the bayou specifically, are a big deal. Even the kiss is not culturally awkward here. Think about the warmth you feel after a genuine greeting.
How often do we mean it when we say, “How are you?”
People are very much in need of sharing their personal needs and experiences with someone who will listen. One of the warnings we received as counseling students is to be cautious about a client who is more than willing to pay you to be their friend. There is a widespread deficit of true friendship in our culture. Social media is contributing to the divide by making it possible to feel connected without any actual contact. What a different world it would be if saying “how are you?” meant we actually wanted to know.
Imparting a blessing with a greeting:
While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said. “The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied. (Ruth 2:4 NLT)
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. (Romans 1:7 NLT) Paul
May God give you more and more grace and peace. (1 Peter 1:2 NLT) Peter
Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. (3 John 2) John
Wrap Up: At New Life Counseling Center we focus on relationships. Whether it’s marriage counseling, family counseling, anger management, batterer’s intervention, substance abuse, depression, or anxiety, our professional interventions are recommended for the purpose of restoring healthy relationships. When we make initial contact with new friends our greeting can say a lot about who Jesus is. This lesson could also have been titled “Make time for one another.”
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14 NLT)
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