Have you seen the commercial on television where a person does a good deed? That good deed is seen by someone who then does a good deed for someone else, and that person does a good deed. This goes on through several people, and then the commercial shows the first good deed again.

I wonder how many times this really happens? I think it may happen more often than we think. I also think the opposite happens. Someone is mistreated in some way, says something unkind to someone, or gives someone a dirty look. That puts the recipient in a bad mood, and he or she is tempted to reciprocate either to that person or to someone else.

All of this says to me that our actions generate reactions. The way we behave generates a behavior that is reactive with those around us. This doesn’t mean that if someone does something bad to us, we always do something bad to that person or do it to someone else. It doesn’t mean that if people always treat us well that we always treat everyone else well. It does mean that we “react”.

Let’s look at some Bible examples of this. When God accepted Abel’s sacrifice in Genesis 3 and rejected Cain’s sacrifice, Cain reacted by killing his brother. His reaction was brought on by jealousy.

I Samuel 25 relates the story of Nabal’s rude behavior to King David and how David reacted. David was angry and planned to kill Nabal. Nabal’s reaction was brought about by selfishness. When Abigail, Nabal’s wife, heard about Nabal’s rudeness, she reacted and tried to repair the damage. Her reaction was brought about by kindness.

When the temple guard came for Jesus in Luke 18, Peter reacted by cutting off Malchus’ ear. Jesus reacted by healing Malchus and rebuking Peter. Peter reacted out of fear.

Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison in Acts 16. They reacted by praising God, singing and praying while they were in prison. The jailer watching them was moved by their devotion and allowed Paul and Silas to teach him. The jailer responded by washing their wounds and allowing them to teach him about Jesus. He was obedient to their teaching and was baptized for the remission of his sins. His first reaction was compassion on the wounded men. His reaction to the teaching of Paul and Silas was brought about by his faith in Jesus Christ and his desire to be obedient.

We can see that reactions are brought about by many different feelings. The reaction of those with a desire to do right is the most interesting.

In the case of those whose reactions were negative, there was no desire to do the right thing. There was only the desire to do what the individual wanted to do. The individual was mostly concerned with his own selfish desire, need to feel better, fulfilling his feeling of importance, or just being jealous.

In the case of those whose reactions were positive, there was truly a desire to do the right thing. There was no selfishness, jealousy, or hesitation. They had open hearts and were more concerned about being obedient.

Think of how people’s lives changed! Cain was banished; Nabal lost his life; and the soldiers were guilty of murdering the Son of God.

Abigail became the wife of a king, Peter learned a valuable lesson, the jailer received forgiveness of his sins.

The next time someone mistreats you, think about these examples and consider what your reaction should be. You can change a life! You can find a happiness you never knew! You could be responsible for saving a soul! Any or all of these can happen just because of your reaction.

Sandra Oliver