The world has been cursed by revenge reactions. It is sometimes expressed out of a feeling that justice is to be served, and that justice rests somewhere in our immediate response to something we do not like. Affirmative reaction may also occur, related to something that we do like, so may be given undue advantage in our conduct. Our interest here is related to reactions inducing negative responses. Reaction is a mixture of strong and weak characteristics found in human nature. There is often jealousy, anger, hatred, and an unwillingness to accept the realities of life and nature. Reaction control is so elusive that one requires instruction, conviction and practice to learn how to control reactions, to smother them, perhaps to deal dramatically with them – even to use them for the cultivation of maturity and leadership, to address and solve problems. We can learn something about ourselves in analyzing and improving negative, perhaps selfish, reactions.
Reaction is a part of psychological life. Many matters are touched by elusive reactions. Medical scientists know one of their major problems is the reaction of bodies to medicines. In the 1920s, Roger Babson argued that there would be reaction in the stock market, and he, with his wife, prepared for it. When the crash came in 1929, he flourished. He said he got the idea from Newton’s law of thermodynamics – that, every action had its equal and opposite reaction. The action was World War I, and the losses attending it, would lead to depression. Vilified during the 20s, he became the guru of Wall Street, as decades later did Warren Buffet managing investments from Omaha, Nebraska. Evading the machinations of Wall Street players, Buffet became one of the wealthiest men in the world, some years the wealthiest. During economic chaos he fended off the reactions of many investors and Wall Street moguls. He affirmed that he did.
The reaction of Noah to the tragedies of the flood was drunkenness. The reaction of Elijah to the poison pen letter of Jezebel was self-pity under the juniper tree. The reaction of Peter at the fire was to swear, and deny his Lord. That quickness to emotional response was further demonstrated in the slashing of the ear of the soldier sent to arrest Jesus. Jesus took a moment out of his own ordeal to instruct Peter. From the above text we learn how Nabal reacted to David’s request, and how David reacted to Nabal’s response. Abigail was the only sensible one in the piece, and served to close off revenge in either man. She learned the circumstances and in a mature treatment of the whole matter, prevented tragedy. She succeeded. David abandoned his vengeful plan. Nabal died, struck by the folly of his life in the grace shown by Abigail. David sent for Abigail to become his wife after Nabal’s death. She made him a better man. As a lad, I once reacted to something my mother had done or said to me, and blurted out: I don’t love you anymore. She paused for a moment to catch a breath and coolly replied: That’s all right son, I have enough love for both of us. That moment, and it was a life-changing moment, ended my childish resentment, and I found the beauty of grace, mercy, and love leading to the unscrambling of offense to healing. It is found in forgiveness, especially the fully furnished forgiveness of God. I had to forgive myself. We need the principle and gift of patience as a standard factor for problem solving. We need an attitude of learning, proved by asking questions of value related to the matter at hand. Persons with objectivity, refusing to be insulted, can become guides to better levels of life than appears to be common to us in everyday experience. The old reaction context robs us of maturity and excellence in life performance. Thoughtful living is far more rewarding for self and others in the management of life, formal and informal. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020