Enjoy, not use

Another important point raised in the book that I was reading and commenting on last week - "Living without enemies", is that when working and interacting with people, we should carefully guard against 'using' others to meet our own ends, rather than simply 'enjoying' them for their uniqueness and intrinsic worth. I was reminded of this yesterday at the NOVO coaching course I was at, when in being in the role of a 'coachee', I was coached to consider ways of practically avoiding such behaviour in the context of my enthusiastic efforts toward planting our new church in Tarneit. So here are some possible responses: (1) Get to know people well by being interested in what they are interested in and through asking good questions; (2) Seek to forge mutual friendships, not just working relationships; (3) Pray for people's personal daily needs; (4) Listen carefully to what people want to contribute moreso than telling them what you need; (5) Thank people enthusiastically for whatever they are doing to help others.