9 Principles for Healthy Relationships
(English • Español)
by Raimer Rojas
Speak truth in love. Don’t be vague, indirect, or passive-aggressive. Speak clearly and kindly. Ask questions with patience and listen with the goal of understanding.
Ephesians 4:15 – “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
Colossians 4:6 – “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt...”
Take responsibility for your part—your tone, reactions, decisions, thoughts, expectations, emotional growth, healing, and spiritual maturity.
Galatians 6:5 – “For each one should carry their own load.”
Matthew 7:5 – “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Look at your spouse through heaven’s lens. Honor the new creation that is growing inside of them. Don’t treat them according to their past or your pain.
2 Corinthians 5:16–17 – “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view... If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come...”
Romans 12:10 – “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Protect and prioritize your closeness. Pay attention to what builds emotional safety and physical intimacy. Stay tender with one another.
1 Corinthians 7:5 – “Do not deprive each other... so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Hebrews 13:4 – “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure...”
Don’t expect perfection—celebrate progress. Hope believes that God is not finished with your spouse. Gratitude will protect your heart from discouragement.
Philippians 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Encourage one another and build each other up...”
Don’t just agree with your pain or disappointment. Agree with what God is doing in your spouse. Speak life over them and come into unity with God’s heart.
Hebrews 3:13 – “Encourage one another daily... so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Hebrews 10:24 – “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
When one of you is in a vulnerable season, let the stronger one adjust to care for the other. Lean into grace, not resentment.
Ephesians 4:32 – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Galatians 6:2 – “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Let your relationship be a place of safety where both hearts matter. Work as a team and submit to one another as unto Christ. Don’t manipulate, dominate, or isolate.
Ephesians 5:21 – “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Philippians 2:3 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
Love doesn’t give up when things get hard. God is training you to build something that will last. Stay committed even through frustration or waiting.
1 Corinthians 13:7 – “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.