The cornerstones to a healthy relationship are Love, Respect, Honor, and Trust. Without all of these as the foundation, a relationship will not last. To love someone is awesome and also hurtful without the other three components in place. One cannot demand respect as it has to be earned through trust. There will be no honor without respect. Without trust, love will diminish. Each component builds on another and without one all is lost.
That's a great illustration, four cornerstones of a building. Without all four solid and intact, the relationship structure cannot stand.
ReplyDeleteBefore entering that building, that relationship, an honest evaluation of those four cornerstones lets you see into the distant future at what will come. I think of painful relationships I've been in and can see (with hindsight) how some of those were lacking; and they came to their inevitable conclusion.
Also how those four cornerstones are sliding scales, and we should aim for balance. Too little respect manifests itself in the other person not honor us; but too much respect takes on an unrealistic type of relationship where the other person's expectations are impossible; leading to loss of trust when we fail, as humans will.