And this is eternal life… – John 17:3, Amplified Bible

In a recent survey, two thousand employers were asked for what reasons they fired employees. Two-thirds of those surveyed responded that a major reason they let employees go is because the employees could not get along with others. When people don’t get along, it is because at least one person in the conflict is more interested in defending his pride than in finding a way to get along. As Proverbs 13:10 teaches, “only by pride cometh contention,” and when pride is on display, harmony is nowhere to be found.

In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey identified one of the seven habits of successful people as the habit of seeking first to understand, then to be understood. Seeking to understand others first requires a person to swallow his pride and acknowledge that someone else may actually have a valid point to make. When we swallow our pride, our ability to get along with others greatly increases.

Our ability to get along with God is also dependent on our willingness to seek first to understand. As a matter of fact, seeking to understand God is what eternal life is all about. As John 17:3 (Amplified Bible) teaches:

And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

Eternal life isn’t a fire insurance policy that pays out after death. Eternal life is a relationship with God that begins the moment we are saved. Yes, being rescued from the punishment of Hell is a part of salvation, but salvation is so much more than that. It is being rescued from the pain of not knowing and of not understanding the Eternal Parent who created us. We bring conflict into our lives when we try to force our Parent into our way of thinking, which He just isn’t going to do. We bring heart peace into our lives when we come around to His way of thinking, which is exactly what we ought to do.

Those Christians who seek to understand God first each day learn how to live in harmony with both God and man. Those who are more interested in defending their own positions, however, live in constant conflict with both God and man.

Which life are you living today? One characterized by harmony, or one defined by conflict?