“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32
There is no doubt the inventions of the hammer and the screwdriver has been a great thing. Think about the variety of hammers that have been made: framing hammers, sledge hammer, ice pick hammer, ball point hammer, rubber mallet, tack hammer and several others. There are two traditional type of screwdrivers- flat head and Philips head, or as one of my relatives says, “ you got the plus sign screwdriver and the minus sign screwdrivers. These are great tools but….
A hammer that hits your fingernail and not the metal nail is a disaster of an action and trouble during reaction. Hammers that are used as a reaction can ruin cars, walls, and people. They were not made for reaction.
A screwdriver that is used for assembly and mid useful, can be a devastation if used as a sword or stabbing device. Its purpose is useful, while its rational use is destructive.
Hammers and screwdrivers are tools and can be very productive, and yet when in the hands of reaction are a wrong use.
In the book of James chapter 3, we are asked a rhetorical and thought-provoking question:
“Does a spring of water bubble out with
both fresh water and bitter water? Does a
fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine
Can a produce figs? No, and you can’t
draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
James 3:11-12 NLT
As believers let’s allow a good work to be happening in us, so that we might have our reactions be a blessing. We should be doing that one great thing that we were created for by God. To glorify and enjoy Him. This should be our desire and our practice. When someone runs into us (physically with a car or a shopping cart, or emotion runs into us with words or a bad attitude – may our reaction be a correct and good thing).
It is a prayer that our actions and reactions will be a blessing.