Being Relatable

In my introductory talk yesterday, I dealt with the importance of seeing ourselves as part of a whole. I pointed out that it is a false philosophy which detaches us from all the people around about us and seeks to give our life meaning in detachment from other people. It is like putting a little part of an automobile all on its own and then suggesting that is all it needs; whereas, in actual fact, that part is really meaningless until it is integrated with the other parts and fulfills its function in making the automobile work. What is true in that simple mechanical example is equally true of each of us as human beings. To be effective, to be happy, to be fulfilled, we have got to be more than just a little part on our own.

I quoted some Scriptures in this connection. From the Old Testament I quoted Psalm 68 verse 6, “God sets the lonely in families,” or the alternative translation, “God sets the desolate in a homeland.” In other words, God takes the individual who would be lonely and isolated and He places him in a human setting, whether it is a family or whether it is a homeland or whether it is a nation.

And then in the New Testament, the words of Paul in Acts chapter 17 verse 26, “From one man God made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” Notice, God made the nations, they are not accidents. And He, God, determined the times set for them, and the exact places where they should live. That is a very far-reaching statement. God chose the place, God set the time. And each one of us needs to find our place in the nation, where God has set us at any given time. And so I offer this definition of a patriot, in the light of the truths that we have just been looking at.

“A patriot is one who fulfills his allotted role in the nation in which God has placed him.”

It is important, you see, that you understand that it doesn’t just depend on your own personal individual whims or fancies; God has a hand in this. It was God who placed you in the nation in which you are a member and a part.

In my talk today, and throughout the rest of this week, I am going to point out some practical applications of this principle. In my talk today, specifically, I am going to speak about being relatable. Now relatable, I think, is a word I have coined. But, what I understand by it is being the kind of person that other persons can relate to and that can relate to other persons.

Now I have lived quite a long while and I have lived with a lot of different people. I am the head of a very large family. I and my first wife had nine adopted daughters. My second wife gave me three more children. So I am responsible as the head of a house for twelve children. I have I don’t know how many grandchildren, probably something like forty, and a good number of great-grandchildren. So I am not speaking out of theory. And I myself was an only child; I had no brothers or sisters. And so when I came in by God’s providence, into this very large family setting, I had to learn a lot about being relatable.

I was very much a person used to going my own way, doing my own thing, thinking my own thoughts. I was used to getting off on my own and just, you know, being myself. And I think God chose this particular way of dealing with this aspect of my character. I don’t think I was a very relatable person, because I didn’t see the importance of human relationships. But believe me, over the years, sometimes the hard way, and sometimes the not-so-hard way, I’ve learned a good deal about this concept of being relatable. And so I want to speak for a little while today on what this means particularly for us as members of this nation, the United States of America.

I want to point out to you one very interesting and important feature of the United States and its history and origin, which I believe to be unique. And I want to introduce it this way, by telling you what the Hebrew name, the name in modern Hebrew, is for the United States. In the Hebrew language it is “Aratsoat Habreet”. That means “Lands of the Covenant.” Now Hebrew is perfectly capable of saying “the United States,” but it doesn’t. Its particular name for this nation is “Lands of the Covenant.” What does that mean? It represents real discernment into the significance of the history of the United States, that this nation, I think alone, of all modern nations, is based on a covenant which we call the Constitution. It’s an agreement between a number of states as to how they would live and function together as a single nation.

I don’t want to go into the history of it, I am sure you are familiar with that much.

Now what I want to point out is that having a covenant requires a certain kind of people. Only people of a certain kind can live in covenant relationship and make a covenant function. I believe the founding fathers of the United States clearly recognized this. In many of their statements you will find that they said something to the effect it takes a certain kind of person to make this thing work. And basically they all assumed a certain background which I would call the Judeo-Christian ethic; that is, the ethic that is based on the Bible, Old Testament and New, based on the Ten Commandments, based on an acknowledgment of God, on an acknowledgment that there is a divine law, that there are moral and spiritual principles that function with nations as with individuals. And, you see, it is like having a blueprint from an excellent architect, which is what I consider the American Constitution to be. It is wonderful to have this blueprint, but bear in mind that no matter how good the blueprint is you cannot build the building that the blueprint outlines unless you have the material that the building demands.

In other words, the American Constitution requires certain kinds of people to make it operate. And one of the big problems in the United States today is that a lot of people still want the covenant, but they don’t want to be covenant men and women. They don’t want to be relatable in the sense that I am talking about.

Now there is a very practical question that arises out of what I have been saying. What kind of person is a relatable person? What do we have to be like in order to be either the kind of people that will make this covenant, which is the Constitution, really function effectively?

First of all, I want to say we need an ideal. Today, ideals tend to be scoffed at. We have no heroes, we have no ideals, we are cynical about everything and everybody. The implication is, just go your own way, nobody is any better than you are, you don’t have to live any higher then you feel like. I think that’s a disaster. And I want to set before you briefly an ideal, which I believe is the ideal of being a relatable person. And I want to take it from Psalm 15. I will not have time to go into it in detail, but I want you to listen carefully. It begins with a question, “Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill?” And I believe that the kind of person that can relate to God is the kind of person that can relate also to men. Now here is a list of things I want you to think about:  

“He whose walk is blameless, and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart, and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath, even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Now that’s what I call a covenant man or a covenant woman. That’s what it takes to be truly relatable. It’s an ideal. We will not always live up to it. But the fact that we cannot always live up to it is no reason for abandoning the ideal. And I want you to see how much there is in this picture which deals with how we are in our relationship with our fellow men. It says,

“[he] who speaks the truth from his heart ... has no slander on his tongue.” He does not speak evil of others. “Who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man. ...” We do not attack our fellow man. We do not pull people down to lift ourselves up. “[He] despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord.”

Notice, “honor”—that is the thing there is very little of in contemporary society. We have almost forgotten how it is to honor the people that should be honored. Then it says, “Who keeps his oath, even when it hurts.” He can be relied on to do what he has committed himself to do. And then, he doesn’t lend his money on usury, he is fair and upright and generous in his financial dealings. I believe that’s what it is to be relatable.

Let me suggest that you take time to read Psalm 15 on your own and check on how near you are to that ideal.

Well, our time is up for today. Before I close, I am going to make a special request of you. This week and next we are asking our listeners across the nation to express their appreciation of this radio ministry by sending us a special Thanksgiving offering. I am sure you understand that this ministry is kept on the air by the offerings of people just like yourself—people who have been helped and blessed by its message. By sending us your offering at this time you will do three important things:

1. First, you will be expressing your appreciation for help that you yourself have received through this ministry.
2. Second, you will enable us to bring the same kind of help to someone else who needs it as much as you do, but may not be in a position to support us financially.
3. Third, you will encourage and strengthen me personally.

So please take time to say, “Thank you,” at Thanksgiving.