Rodney Beavers – Every Action

For every action, there is an opposite or equal reaction. – Newton’s Third Law

Newton’s Third Law means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.

When I used to read this, I never equated it to relationships. But a few years ago, I put this into practice in my marriage and it changed it completely.

My wife and I were going through a rough stretch and she was threatening to leave me. One day I was praying for my wife to make some changes and I really felt God whisper to me: You can’t change her, but you can change you.

It really hit me hard, but I started making some changes. For example, I stopped complaining when she put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I thanked and complimented her more. I started reacting differently to things she said or did.

The change in her didn’t happen immediately but I could tell things were turning. It took about three years for things to get exponentially better but it did, and I began the practice in all my encounters. I realized that how we treat others affects how they treat us.

My wife and I almost never have bad service in restaurants and that’s mostly because of her. She will find something to compliment the server on almost as soon as he or she walks up to the table.

Everyday life has all the opportunities for this. A smile to a stranger that may be having a bad day. The person who checks you out at the store, can you get them to smile or laugh? Try it, it is contagious.

Even more, try it with your family members you don’t necessarily like. It works wonders on your kids. If you spend most of the day at work, ask yourself this question: are they better because they work with you? Stop the gossip and find good things to say about people. Gossip can be contagious but so can complimenting—even more so.

So, the challenge is to spread the love and goodness of our God through our actions to everyone we meet, even when you don’t feel like it, because it will change your attitude as well.