Are We More Than Just Biology?

   I was driving down Hamilton Road earlier this week when I saw a common occurrence in a new way. I was following a large SUV and out from the driver's side window appeared a dog, enjoying the wind as it blew his way. The only interruption to this moment of bliss came when he saw someone on the sidewalk. The dog would then bark at each person he saw walking down the road.
   This was really nothing out of the ordinary until I began to consider the relative scale of it all. You see, it was a very small dog poking his body out of a very large vehicle. Now I never caught a glimpse of the driver, but based on the stickers on the rear glass indicating that were a retired Army Ranger who had served our nation on foreign soil, size did not matter. I was struck. Why all the barking? Who did this dog think he was protecting? Were there any real threats to him or his owner on the street that day?
   Of course, the answers to these questions return us to biology. It was Harvard professor and psychologist William Bradford Cannon who coined the term fight or flight response. It has since been classified as the acute stress syndrome and I can hear my father now describing the catecholamine horomones as the actual triggers released in the bloodstream. Either way, this little dog was displaying this classic and natural response perfectly, however silly it seemed to all of us onlookers. 
   We humans often find ourselves in situations of fight or flight. But, while it is silly and even comical to see a tiny dog barking away, I am struck by how damaging and destructive it can be when we are not aware of what we are doing. 
   It is one thing when the situations call for it. But, does every situation demand fighting or fleeing? I think not. Most days and most moments call for grace and peace. I am thinking now of snarky comments and behind-the-back name-calling and gossip. To be honest, it happens to often but most of the time it is excused because of some perceived threat posed by the other. "You should have seen what said or did." Sometimes the response is the opposite. People will withdraw instead of addressing the person. Grudges are easy to hold...if you don't ever speak to the person again and share your feelings.
   I think Jesus was thinking about much more than literal slaps on the cheek when he said, "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also" (Luke 6:29). I think Jesus wants to ride down the road of life not barking at everything as though they were a threat to us. Fight or Flight might be natural, but that does not mean it is always right. Aren't we more than just biology? Aren't we more than some pre-programmed response? Are we not created in the great likeness of the One who is grace and love and mercy? I pray I would live that way. 
   Grace and Peace to you.

We’ve been here before, but who wins this time?

   We’ve been here before. It is amazing how things repeat themselves. Sometimes we feel like we can predict the future simply because we’ve already seen it so clearly in our past. The repetitive nature of things can be found all over.

   Take this weekend’s Super Bowl XLVI, for instance. We’ve already seen this game before. In fact, Super Bowl marks the 13th Super Bowl that is a rematch of a regular season game. In case you are wondering, the loser in the regular season is 7–5 in these games, including 5–1 the last six times this has happened. This bodes well for the Patriots, since the Giants won earlier this year on November 6. But, not only have we seen these two teams compete already this season, many fans remember they faced each other in a Super Bowl a couple of years back. This is the sixth Super Bowl in which that has happened. Both head coaches (Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick) and both starting quarterbacks (Eli Manning and Tom Brady) were in the same roles back 1998. The entire storyline, and certainly the commentary before and during the game, will be about the frequent times these opponents have faced each other.

   Which brings us to the Gospel.

   Isn’t it very similar in our own lives, too? We continue to face some of the same opponents. Our storyline is fond of repeating itself, isn’t it? And, it is not just us? How many of us have loved ones and friends that confide in us, and share their lives with us? How often do the frustrations and challenges they share with us repeat themselves? It is the same people, or the same situation, or the same stumbling block that continues to prevent them, and us, from moving forward.

   What are your adversaries? Gossip? Self-control? Greed? Stubbornness? An unhealthy appetite? Laziness? Arrogance? Isn’t it true that the same opponents line up against us, time and time again? In the contest of eternal proportions that is being played out in our souls, we’ve been here before, but who wins this time?

   We are the victors, in Christ. That is the Good News. That is the promise. 1 John 5 says it this way, “For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.”

   May you face the opponents of our souls, that seek to crush the abundant live that Christ offers to each of us, and place your faith in the One who has already conquered death. He is Jesus. Love wins. Grace and Peace to you, Scott.