That there is a bridge over which we thus communicate and fellowship with ourselves suggests the Holy Spirit, third member of the Trinity. And this leads into the thought that the most important relationship of all is our relationship to God. So to be human is to be in relationship. The importance of these relationships can hardly be exaggerated. If we have let created things usurp the place in our lives which God alone can properly hold, then things have become idols and we shall have to explain our service of them.
Relationships are foundational to human life and living.
We talked in the last issue about faulty relationships with the created world of things, people, and experiences. We will consider later or relations to ourselves and to God. Bellah and his co-authors discovered in their investigations that personal preference has become the primary criterion for Americans in making ethical as well as practical judgements. Our earlier concern has drained away in favor of a devastating lack of commitment to anything except one's self-fulfillment. The community, of whatever kind, has lost its power to motivate our lives.