Relationship with God

It hadn't occurred to me until this morning at church, talking to a ring-shy gentleman, that the phrase might not have an altogether benign note to those of us for whom "relationship" is an "uh-oh" word. Popular mythology assumes that most of those are men. I can't say for sure--most of the men I talk to who use the word use it in a scientific or engineering sense.

Of course salesmen lunch with customers, so they can learn to trust each other. "Networking" and "cultivating contacts" is all about relationships. If Bill Gates called and explained that he was your long-estranged uncle and wanted to come to your birthday party next week--voila, another relationship. And if I could call the President and have him take my call that's another relationship. All are microscopic reflections of our relationship with God, and perhaps a little easier to handle than the "We need to talk about our relationship."