Strength in Love: The Power of Covenantal Relationships
The Relationships that we create play a vital role towards the success of an organization. The most successful businesses thrive off the covenants that are established between work partners. Covenantal relationships are built around values like trust, loyalty, respect, commitment, honesty, and other shared values. It is important for organizations to have an atmosphere conducive to the professional and personal development of every individual. A higher purpose is served through these relationships as they help fuel the overall growth towards a company. Below is my personal story behind building covenantal relationships broken down through life, love, and success. Please follow along as I explain the importance of getting to know the people around you and having a support structure.
Life: “There is value behind knowing the people around you and their life stories…”
Life can really be a bastard at times. Hold on… allow me to explain my perspective and justify that statement. I have witnessed pain and death. As a young man I had a friend gunned down in the streets and die in my arms, I lost my mother to cancer, I watched my father die with his body and mind fading away to nothing. I have had blood relatives use me for money then curse the day I was born, and I’ve served my country in war and have left my wife and children for what amounts to years. I tell you, this journey has not been easy. Each of these situations has their own storyline along with many more that I won’t list. I share this with you because I need you to have a clear understanding of how others play a critical role towards individual survival. There is value behind knowing the people around you and their life stories…
Love: “People who help in the most hopeless situations and shine a light in your darkest hours are truly a blessing, and the relationships you build from that are a covenant.”
There have been times I was so burdened that wanted to quit. I will never believe that suicide is the right decision, but I understand how darkness can consume your mind. I was fortunate to find God through the people he sent my way. They helped me fight through hard times in more ways than I could ever explain. People who help in the most hopeless situations and shine a light in your darkest hours are truly a blessing, and the relationships you build from that are a covenant. Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens, so one person sharpens another.” If you haven’t gone through struggles in life, how can you honestly help another person get through theirs? If you have not been battle-tested on this road of life, then don’t try selling your map to the other side of that road.
With these principles in mind, I built a covenant of love and trust with strong individuals of similar minds. I have committed to an extended family of brothers and sisters through heart and spirit to help me continue to grow. Without cost to me, they’ve offered support and guided me when I was lost and afraid. Because of these people in my life, I am committed to being a better man, husband, father, brother, and leader. I always tell my children to choose their friends wisely because the hour of darkness finds us all. Who do you have in your circle built to help you fight? How will you quickly progress if you do not have a support structure? For those of you who have not yet experienced hardship I applaud you, but just keep living, pain comes for us all.
Success: “Life can really be challenging at times, but we are here on this planet together; we need each other to survive.”
The most successful businesses have strong relationships built from within that not only support organizational success but develop people in our society. As we reflect on success, we should ourselves: When the day ends, how do you know if you have been successful? Should it be validated by trophies, awards or money? Or will you define success by the number of people that you’ve helped along the way and the covenants you have built? Life can really be challenging at times, but we are here on this planet together; we need each other to survive.
I’m not claiming that you should easily trust everyone around you but those that you connect with, always keep them close in your heart. Build your spiritual family by making a covenant beyond the limits of blood. Create bonds that will carry through the generation in stories that you tell your children and they can tell their children. Build a legacy of hope and commitment which gives back to the original intent of love that God wants you to have. Know that there are people in this world that have your back and are willing to die for you. In return, carry their honor with you everywhere you go and spread it throughout every organization in your reach. In closing, I say to you all from my heart, be steadfast resilient and believe that there is good in the world no matter how bad situations appear being.
Editor’s Notes: Demond Ingram is a manager at Llama Leadership and a Senior Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Air Force with extensive experience in leadership both in the United States and abroad. He has successfully led hundreds of people across multiple career fields and is a loving husband and father.