Are you Dead to Reaction?

"I am like a deaf person, I do not hear. I am like a speechless person who does not open his mouth. 14 I am like a man who does not hear and has no arguments in his mouth."

                                                                                    Psalm 38:13-14.  CSB

Do you react negatively to something? Test yourself and imagine you have been waiting for ages in a car park for a space. One becomes vacant but, before you can negotiate into the much hoped for space, another driver races into it. What would be your reaction?

(1)  Would you, give the driver a piece of your mind and then to your peril, find out he is an SAS veteran?

(2)  Would you use expletives and later find yourself standing next to this person in the shopping queue?

(3)  Or would you block the person in by parking behind their car?

None of these are recommended and you may find the person standing beside you in church on the following Sunday. 'Oh No!"

Look at our text today, David did not react by shouting his mouth off. He said he was like a man who is speechless - he had no argument in his mouth. He was dead to reaction. When something is dead, no matter how hard you try, it cannot be revived. Take for instance a dead battery. Once the energy has gone from the battery, it needs charging; it is relatively useless without this.

David demonstrated the art of being dead to reactions. He didn't want to hear the negative things people said about him - how he didn't measure up as a king. He refused to hear and take it on board. He also refused to allow his mouth to speak a bad word; he was in control, not his mouth. He also refused to get involved in arguments.

There is always someone around who has a gripe about you. It goes with the territory. They may slander you, pushing you to respond. They are after an argument - don't give them one! It takes sheer will-power and self control to refuse to react negatively; but look at Jesus, He is your role model. He didn't react negatively at all, in fact, at times He never opened His mouth.

Just imagine the negative energy that you are burning up by your reactions. Words are spoken that you cannot take back and friendships are lost just to name two. Don't do it! Learn to be Dead to Reaction. You'll have a happier life this way.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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