Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Mind controls our emotions. The brain is the physical place where the mind resides. Mind is the spiritual energy that generates thoughts and emotions which build physical structures in our brains. Dr Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, explains that happy thoughts grow healthy tree-like structures in the brain and toxic thoughts grow poisonous prickly structures in the brain. Hence the energy that emotions create are like nourishment or pollutants to the heart. Love, joy and happiness nourish the body whereas frustration, fury or failure infuses lethal toxins into our bloodstream. Reactions to distress can be broadly classified into “reflective thoughts” or “deflective thoughts”.
Reflective thoughts throw light on the dark incidents and draw wisdom. On the other hand, deflective thoughts redirect, refracts and shifts the blame on others. Reflective thoughts grow healthy physical structures and deflective thoughts grow ugly, parched and frail structures in the brain. When “offence” is the reaction to an incident, the deadly toxin of anger, irritation or bitterness poisons the heart and steals joy. No one could offend Jesus. The cynicism of the Pharisees, the criticism of the Sadducees nor the sarcasm of the rich could affect His emotions or could deflect Him from His destination. To have the mind of Christ, is to mature out of being easily offended, insulted or hurt.
Reactions of a reflective and deflective mind:
1. Reflect: The most common reaction to offence is anger. Anger makes our brain dead and increases heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. We stop thinking logically and go on a reactionary gear. We lose the capacity of reflective thinking while we are offended and angry. Jesus could never be offended as no one could deflate His self-esteem. He was called names and was given adverse titles but He knew who He was and His purpose on earth. If a comment on FB, an instagram remark or a reaction inflates or deflates our happiness, then, our emotions are in control of our life. Build your self-worth on who God has created you to be, not on how you feel. .
2. Refract: The next reaction to offence is blame. Refracting and shifting the responsibility on others only produces deflective energy. Don’t give the devil a chance (Ephesians 4:27) to deflect your thoughts and to condemn yourself or others. Learn from your past mistakes but don’t let them mess up your present. Living in the past makes the present distasteful and the future disdained. Deflective thought patterns insinuates self-pity, low self-esteem and suicidal strongholds. Stop blaming others for your pain or problems even if 95% of the responsibility rests on the offender. Blaming others or yourself only increases your pain, it does not heal. Replace deflective thoughts with praise.
3. Respond: Jesus did not react, He responded. When offended, don’t rush to reply or defend yourself. Allow your emotions to calm down and reflect on the incident. Any reactionary response will only cause more damage to yourself and others. Most times, silence is the best answer to offence. Don’t react, respond.
Our Master Jesus did not let offence affect His emotions or control His actions or reactions.
Consciously construct reflective thoughts and not deflective toxic trees to have the mind of the Master’s mind.
1 Corinthians 2:9 We have the mind of Christ.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me not to be offended by the actions of others but to build reflective healthy thought trees that will bear Godly and goodly fruits. Amen
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