The Wonders of Transactionalism

​My Word program redlined me on the last word of this blog’s title. Oh well, I guess I just brought a new word into existence. The concept to be sure is older than the hills. The Jehovah presented in the Hebrew Scriptures is nothing if not transactional. Look at all I’ve done for you, “He” seems to be saying. Not only have I created the whole world and filled it with plants and animals to help and sustain you, but I’ve created you. Now it’s your turn to do whatever I want you to do, and woe be unto you if you fail me. You’ll get it from me in spades... 

Fortunately, this Jupiter-like figure is a tribal god—one who will fight on our side and help us beat or ever destroy our enemies so long as we behave ourselves as a people. But then think of the Great Flood. Why did all creatures except for Noah and family plus a pair of all the animals have to die. Surely not every last person and creature back then was evil, and what did the plants and the animals do to deserve mass extinction? If creation went wrong, surely it must be the fault of the creator, not the creation. Moreover, the same thing can be asked about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I doubt that there were not even five decent individuals in those towns. This version of our Creator does make “him” sound like a bully.
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Similarly, former U.S. President Donald Trump seems a poster child for transactionalism. You do certain things for me, and I’ll reciprocate. If you kiss my ring even if you were critical of me in the past, I’ll find a job for you in my new administration. It’s a subservience-based system. You scratch my back first, then take off your shirt and turn around. If I’m in the mood, I’ll reciprocate by scratching yours. To be sure, even in socialist countries, you still have to pay for what you get, whether in a grocery store or a restaurant. This kind of exchange is normal. But in human relations? The concept of neighborliness suggests that we are helpful to our neighbors without expecting anything in return. And in Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan, we see how a good neighbor can be someone quite different from our own people. I remember a joke I heard decades ago. A mother says to her son, “Why can’t you be good?” He replies, “I will if you give me five dollars.” To this the mother replies, “Why can’t you be good for nothing like your father?!” To be sure, when I first heard this story, the kid wanted a mere twenty-five cents, but then, that was real money back in the day.

I recognize that we work in order to be paid and that these payments enable us to buy or rent the things we need to sustain ourselves and our families. Yet the ethic Jesus suggests is to be helpful without expecting something equal in value in return. This attitude implies that our focus, at least in human relations, should be on actions, not transactions. We help to be helpful. We don’t send a bill. Let’s hope that we all get this balance between actions and transactions right. The future of Planet Earth may depend on it.

“Let me help you, Brother,” says the Samaritan.