by Greg Gifford, PhD
Relational tension soon follows people who are not aware of how they are influencing others. “I had no idea that upset you,” we might hear in one of those tense moments. Or, “if I had known that was a problem, I never would have done that.” How wonderful that a person is willing to learn and grow—that is always commendable! But what about the person who is able to perceive, early on, what would influence another and thus what to avoid? How much better!
I’ve been asked about “Emotional Intelligence” (EI) multiple times by those in my church and what the Bible would suggest in regard to EI. One of the main tenets of EI is the concept of “self-awareness” or the ability to “recognize a feeling as it happens.”[i] Inevitably you have witnessed this, a person can describe what they are experiencing in their inner man and how it affects others. And you, by now, have also experienced those who are seemingly clueless in regard to their own emotions and the impact of those emotions on others.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul describes the way that the Corinthians actions were influencing those around them. Paul
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