1)Listen to Podcast
2)GG Questions 11/11/2018
EHS: Becoming Emotionally Mature
Luke 10:25-37
1. Practicing the Presence of People: As you understand it, what does it mean to “practice the presence of people”? Consulting the lists on page 168, where do emotional infants, children, adolescents, and adults stack up on their ability to be prayerfully present with other people? Are there any behaviors of emotional infants or children which you wish to shead in favor of the emotional maturity of adulthood?
2. The Good Samaritan: Scazzero identifies ‘our great problem’ which is at the root of all relational conflict as the delusion that ‘I am the center of the universe’. How does this self-preoccupation motivate us to treat people as an “it” rather than a “thou”? Who was at the center of the Good Samaritan’s universe (Luke 10:25-37)? What challenges did the Samaritan overcome to love the robbed man which the priest and Levite were unwilling confront? What are some of your challenges when it comes to loving your neighbor?
3. Peacemakers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). Scazzero notes that we often paraphrase this verse, at least in practice, as “Blessed are the conflict avoiders…” What kind of peace is produced by this kind of ‘peacemaker’? Have you ever been such a person or experienced the pain and confusion of someone else’s false peacemaking? What unresolved conflicts do you wrestle with silently today? How might you follow Jesus’ example (Luke 9:46-48) and replace false peace with true?
4. Learning the Skills: Pages 178-185 describe five different practical exercises we can perform to learn how better love our neighbor and treat them as a “thou” instead of an “it.” Review these practices together as a group until you are confident you understand and can apply them. Is there a situation or relationship in your life right now which could benefit from the application of one of these exercises?
