The Boomerang Cause and Effect

If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang. - Charly Reese

Said another way, nastiness always comes back and usually hits you in the face.  Sadly, we often stand there, dazed, wondering how such a thing could happen to US.  Oh the unfairness of it all!

Like a boomerang, though, the things that often come back to us originated in that very spot.

In Charley Reese’s quote, the words “malice and envy” could just as easily be replaced with other traits.

For example, the statements below are just as true as the one above:

If rudeness was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If anger was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If suspicion was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If laziness was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If selfishness were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If dishonesy was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

By the same token…

If generosity were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If honesty was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If kindness was tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

If thoughtfulness were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang.

It’s the same lesson we try to teach our children, and the same lesson God tries to teach His. You get back what you give out. Right in the middle of a Barbie marathon, I once overheard our oldest daughter, Emily, talking to her younger sisters. Emily was 5 which would have made Brittany and Stephany 4 and 2. I’m not sure what Britt and Steph had done to earn their lecture, but from the kitchen I heard Emily telling them, “If you do good stuff, you get good stuff. If you do bad stuff, you get bad stuff.”

A few minutes later, Brittany left the living room. The pressure must’ve been too much for her.

Emily’s phrasing became a catch phrase for me and my girls.

All of us KNOW, I suppose, the truth of this lesson when it comes to actions we take. But we often fail to realize just how true it is when it comes to the way we treat others. In a very real sense, we’re the author of our life’s script. We totally control (or fail to control) the things we say, the places we go, and the way we treat others. When we make these decisions, whether we realize it or not, we dictate what others will say to us and how they will treat us.

I just have to call someone out for something extra kind and thoughtful they did recently. Steph’s boyfriend (who I adore, btw!) was at our house this weekend. They had been watching a movie and he’d fallen asleep on the couch. Like all young boys, all it takes to sleep is the body being still for 5 minutes. My husband was outside mowing when he noticed that one of Sleeping Cutie’s tires was nearly flat. He took it off the car and took it to be patched up, then brought it back and put it back on the car.

The thoughtfulness meant a lot to Steph’s boyfriend, but I’m sure it meant even more to Steph. It’s always a great feeling when your parents are ridiculously cool. And what he did was a ridiculously cool thing and I’m all kinds of proud of him for it.

It makes you wonder what the world would be like if more people went out of their way to be kind and thoughtful for others. Not for recognition, not for glory, not for anything except the chance to be…well… cool.

It’s just something to think about this week. Treat everyone around you as nicely and kindly as humanly possible. Be thoughtful and go out of your way to make other people smile.

But whatever you do - you’d better watch out. What you throw out will come back to you. As someone once said, “If you do good stuff, you get good stuff. If you do bad stuff, you get bad stuff.” So if you make it your mission to send out a lot of good, you’re going to get a lot of good flying back at you!