JoeMo Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Amid all of the negative news over the past several months (e.g.,CT Shootings, War in Syria, Fiscal Cliff, N. Korean Missle Launched, Iranian Nuclear Weapons, Women's Ordination, Death of an Evangelist, etc., etc.) It's easy to take a very pessimistic view of the immediate future. Who knows, the world might end on Friday Dec. 21! There is so much negativity, that many people just throw up their hands (or just throw up) and give up; praying "Come Lord Jesus!". There is nothing wrong (indeed it's all good!)with wanting the Lord to come. However, there is a lot wrong with living in negativity and fear. Negativity and fear are satans tools to prevent us from realizing our full potential and destiny in Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Within our brains is a amall organ called the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond shaped mass of nuclei located deep within the temporal lobe of the brain; and is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to survival. The amygdala is involved in the processing of emotions such as fear and anger. This organ was "required in days past, when man faced many immediate and certain dangers (attacks by wild animals, enemies all around, anarchy, etc.) Signals from the amygdala bypass our logical conscious mind, ana activate our "fight or flight" reaction. It's the reason we immediately jump at a piece of rope seen on the ground in the dark rather than ask ourselves "hmmm - is that a piece of rope or a snake?" Once turned on, it is a difficult thing to turn off the amygdala. That's why it takes so long to recover from a sudden fright or panic situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 In days past, when people faced certain immediate danger which always required immediate ( and sometimes sustained)response, this was a good thing. People would unconsiously assess a situation and react instictively. When the situation was over, people went on with their lives; and their amygdalas eventually shut down until the next time. Today, the dangers we faced are probabalistic (i.e., we face a "risk" of a terrorist attack; the "risk" of economic collapse; the "risk" of war etc.). Since these risks are probabalistic rather than immediate, they never go away; so our amygdalas never shup down. To be continued... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Since many people are in "fight or flight" mode during most of their waking hours, their bodies are continuously ravaged by adrenalin and associated hormones that cause elevated pulse and blood pressure, as well as other stress responses. Furthermore, our bodies can only produce so much adrenalin; so when we really need it to face a definite and immiediate serious threat, we don't have enuough adrenalin to confront the threat. Could this condition be what Jesus is talking about when he says: "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken" (Luke 21:25)? One of the most common commands in the NT is "Do not fear". In his first epistle, John says that "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1John 4:18). Could these verses be warning us about the damage that fear does to us? Shouldn't we focus on the good things in this life and those to come rather than live in fear and anxiety? Shouldn't we be ruled by the Spirit and our logical minds rather than our amygdalas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeMo Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Psychologists have discovered 2 things about human beings - they are over-confident about things they think they have control over; and they are under-confident about things they think they don't have control over. Take, for a hypothetical example, that your boss tells you that a new requirement for your job is that you must learn how to solve differential equations - something you imagine you have control over. You say "yeah; I can do that. A college class, a little more study, a little less TV... yeah I can do this" Can you? When the first big test comes up, your amygdala kicks in and you blow it, cuz your logical mind is overrun by adrenaline. For another hypothetical example, you are tasked with ending world hunger. You respond "I have no control over that - it's impossible!" Your amygdala kicks in and you run away. How about a real-world example. God says "you must love the Lord with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength; and you must love your neighbor as yourself"; and then lists the 10 commandments. Most of us say "that's impossible!" Our amygdala kicks in and we run away. Our minds are so clouded with fear that we forget that His commandments are also His enablements. He's not gonna ask us to do the impossible. We forget the scripture that says "with man this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible" "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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