Newton’s Third Law decrees that, ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ In the realm of science, knowledge often unables us to predict the reaction engendered by a certain action. The concept is also true of life itself but unlike in science, in life we deal with a ‘wild card’ -humanity-, which renders reaction prediction a little more complicated. This should cause us to be very careful with what we send ‘out there’. Like a boomerang, it seems out actions always have a way of coming back to haunt us.
As a History teacher, I am often amazed at the cosmic truth of the ‘Boomerang Effect’. The Bible puts it as ‘... whatever one sows that he will also reap.’, a principle which seems to come true at all levels of society, as an individual and as a nation. King Solomon gave many warnings as to the ‘Boomerang effect of certain actions or attitudes, be they concerning people or nations. Some of them are, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”, or, “One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”, and again, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” As well as, “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. I believe in God and as such I believe in justice-- justice as the equitous retribution of evil and the reward of good. Whereas I believe in a Higher Power administering this justice, the dynamics of life sometime seem to administer their own ‘Boomerang’ reactions. As such, one’s situation in life or a nation’s state, be they rich or poor, powerful or weak, can be retraced to their former generosity or stinginess, to their arrogance or altruism. I heard it said that it is the small hidden actions in life that define us, not the big showy ones. I think it is the same for a country. I am reminded of a little song I used to sing for my kids, “...the loss of the nail, was the loss of the shoe, was the loss of the horse, was the loss of the king, and the loss of a king was the loss of the kingdom.’ All for the loss of a nail! As an individual; as a family; as an association; as a town; as a country; what are the things that can come back to us ? Will the cosmic boomerang of life return only to hit us in the face?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you appreciate these articles, support their upcoming publication in a book called, "REFLECTIONS OF A FIRE CHAPLAIN"
|