in the meantime

I don't think many people would disagree that relationships are difficult. Somehow we find ourselves in these relationships confused as to what is going on in these deep, dark waters.

In research class we've been learning about different types of research studies. One aspect of research I found very applicable to relationships was a term called causality. Causality is a term used to desc ribe the relationship between a cause and its effect. So, the independent variable has a certain effect on the dependent variable. Now, in some cases researchers use probability to determine how likely (x) will effect (y) in a certain way. Then, the sticky stuff happens. See sometimes life gets complicated and there are more than one cause that is influencing the effect, which is known as multicausality. This should be taken into consideration as researchers analyze how (x) effects (y) because there can be other (x)'s effecting (y) and it may not have anything to do with the original (x).

My research teacher says we do research every day. I think this may be true when we interact with people. We determine the probability of getting a certain reaction if we do a certain thing for someone. But, when the response isn't what we anticipated we get disappointed. Then maybe we start rationalizing that perhaps the person was having a bad day, tired, stressed, etc. and maybe it wasn't me that they were negatively reacting to.

But, then the thought comes to mind. What if it was me they were reacting to?

Perhaps as much as we focus on others effect on us, we should think about our effect on others. When we do have a bad day, act cold towards someone, or don't say hi as we pass by people, are we influencing others in a negative way?

Some people would probably argue with me that as long as we have good intentions then we aren't responsible for how people take us. But, I believe Christ has a better way. His influence enveloped those in His presence and pointed them to the Father. No matter the circumstance, Christ was consistently putting others in the forefront of His mind.

So, maybe you can ask yourself this question the next time you interact with a stranger or a friend, What is my effect on others?