CREATIVE OR REACTIVE?
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:29 – 5:1
E-R-I-T-A-E-C-V. Meaningless letters strung together.
What do we get when we rearrange them?
C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E or R-E-A-C-T-I-V-E. Same letters – totally different meaning. It all depends on our attitude. Many of us are reactive most of the time. What does that mean? It means that we react negatively to situations or people instead of looking for positive solutions. Being reactive often means being confrontational.
Take, for example, the age-old problem of your kids or your husband leaving dirty clothes on the floor. It’s recipe for a blow-up. It’s too much to expect them to pick them up and put them in the laundry basket in the bathroom!!! Instead of using this situation as an opportunity to vent your spleen and create resentment and rebellion, Moms, why not put a funky laundry basket in each child’s bedroom and plan a treat when they co-operate.
Instead of raising Cain when someone offends you, why not go to the person concerned and say, “Let’s talk. What did you mean?” So often, our anger is aroused, not because the other person meant harm but because we have taken it up the wrong way.
Jesus was never reactive in His responses to people. No matter what they said or did, not matter what questions they asked or traps they tried to set for Him, even if He had to say hard things, He always treated people with gentleness and respect. He was never rude, nor did He snap at people. Consider His composure when He was going through the greatest ordeal of His life.
“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made not threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23, NIV)
God has pet themes in Scripture. One of them is unity. Why? Because He created the universe to reflect Himself. The Jewish creed is very simple, “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”(Deut 6:4). In His high priestly prayer (John 17), Jesus’ plea to the Father was that His disciples (including us) might be one as He and the Father and Spirit are one. The Apostle Paul urged the Ephesians church to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:3) All the gifts in the church are to function in harmony to produce one thing – unity expressed by the mature way we handle life (Eph 4:13).
Unity in the body of Christ is destroyed when we cannot longer trust one another, when the church is no longer a safe place where we can be ourselves and fail without condemnation. Scandal and gossip are sure ways to destroy trust. God regards talking about people behind their backs as so serious that He lumps them together with murderers, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and idolaters. (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).
Jesus said that it is our behaviour, as well as our talk, that will convince the world who He is!