The Rubber Band Theory

In today’s world, relationships are extremely fragile. The concept of ‘breaking-up’ has crept into people’s heart. Every relationship is built with the option of breaking-up if things don’t go pretty well. Right from marriages to acquaintances it’s very common to see relationships break-up and surprisingly, it isn’t a great flub any longer. I’ve seen software professionals breaking commitments with their companies because the coffee vending machine doesn’t work or the air conditioning is too cold!

By the way, what is the Rubber band theory? The rubber band would break only if both sides are pulled the opposite way until it could no longer stand. But even if one side “gives-in”, the rubber band never “breaks-up”. Interesting isn’t? In today’s article, let’s see how to enrich this divine quality called “giving-in” and how the Bible teaches us on this theme

“Giving-in” is a term whose real meaning is “being at the sacrificial end”. When I searched the Bible for testimonies, I couldn’t get my eyes off Jesus who went to the pinnacle of sacrifice, by laying down His Kingship and stepping down from the throne and appearing on the earth as a poor little child and endured pain up to the cross of Calvary where He was sacrificed as an offering for us. What a divine sacrifice! John 15:13 says “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Jesus stands out as the best example of “giving-in”. He never considered himself equal with God but took the nature of a servant and humbled himself to the point of death – Philippians 2:5-11. Jesus’ life is the perfect example of how we should develop the quality of sacrifice.

The biggest enemy of sacrifice is the “Why Should I” attitude. The WSI phenomenon is very much prevalent in our generation. Even Christians who boast about their spirituality often tend to display WSI when it comes to giving-in. I commute to office through the KR Puram underpass everyday and there is havoc almost every single minute because of traffic congestion. The 4 lane wide road suddenly converges to a single lane at one point and everyone at that point thinks “Why should I” wait for the other one to pass. Imagine each vehicle taking 2-3 minutes to pass that point when 200 vehicles are stacked on either side. If only we could develop an attitude of giving-in in every little thing we do, the world would be a better place to live in.

Today, the ball is in our court. We cannot be waiting for the others to change when we ourselves need to change. It’s high time you sit and think how many relationships you could’ve saved if only you had sacrificed your ego, status etc. Huge software projects require team members to work cohesively, but how many times have you refused to give-in which resulted in delays or failure. How many times have you fought with your spouse which could’ve died down if only you gave-in. Are there instances in your life when you refused a ministry call because you weren’t ready to sacrifice?

Sacrifice is often painful but the joy reaped is overwhelming. The fruits may not be evident right away but you are sure going to receive the reward for giving in. Always try to place yourself at the sacrificial end so that how ever strong the other side may pull, you can still keep the rubber band from “breaking up”!

Lord Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice and I ask you to grow in me the attitude of giving in. Let me make a world of difference by changing myself. Amen.