The People Factor
Relationships. They seem to make or break our happiness. Van Moody, a pastor serving the Worship Center in Birmingham, Alabama, understands the importance of relationships and provides a compact guide with his The People Factor.
The People Factor addresses the vertical (our relationship with God) and the horizontal (our relationship with others) aspects of relational skills. As a pastor he found a lack in ready resources when he counseled people. “There was nothing to put in the hands of people who left my office after sharing their deep pain over a relationship that would teach them beyond-the-basics lessons that could help them in highly practical ways.”
In each chapter, Pastor Moody weaves sound advice around his provided relatable examples, ending with “Relationship Reminders” and “Raising Your Relational IQ” which serve as personal checkpoints or could be used as discussion points in a group study.
The book is filled with points of reflection:
“We must realize that discrepancies between words and actions are serious warning signs.” (p.7)
“In relationships, commitment to integrity must take precedence over mutual comfort or shared enjoyment because integrity is the foundation of a person’s life.” (p. 47)
“You cannot erase your past. It will alwys be part of your personal history, but it does not have to define you.” (p.75)
Divided into three sections, the book explores the dynamics of relationship.
Part One: The Critical Laws of Relationships delves into the essentials of relationship such as agreement, understanding how the past influences relationships of today, and the importance of loyalty.
Part Two: How to Make the Most Difficult Choices, investigates unhealthy relationships–how to cope with them and how to let go of them.
Part Three: Essentials of Great Relationships promotes the understanding of the process of how healthy relationships work.
Finding happiness can come by losing weight, redecorating the house, or changing up the wardrobe, and there are plenty of books that help a person towards that measure of happiness. Yet, finding joy in relationships, that supercedes any temporal happiness.
The People Factor provides sound advice to promote sound relationships.
Pam Webb 