July 14, 2006

How would you like to think without thinking? Malcolm Gladwell makes a clear argument for this inherent ability in his recent book Blink. (2005) Since I an fascinated by books about brain function, I enjoyed this book.

Gladwell writes about rapid cognition - snap decisions – about those first few seconds of thought before we’re actually aware of any thought. He addresses what contributes to the conclusions we reach and judgments we make.

One influence he described is labeled ‘priming’. Priming is described as those first thoughts in our mind that control later thoughts and/or actions. One example was of two groups playing word games. The first group was asked to imagine themselves as professors, the second, soccer hoodlums.

The ‘professors’ did significantly better. So I was thinking about the thoughts that come first in my mind and the influence they have on my life. And I remembered a quotation I learned in high school about first priorities.

It’s in the book, Steps to Christ, p. 70, where Ellen White makes this observation. “Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’ This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.”

According to the rule of ‘priming’, what I put in my mind first will have an effect on what I do and say later. This is a strong argument for morning devotional habits. Even when I am unaware of it’s affect, what I put in my mind can make a profound difference.

“Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul.” Matthew 6:22

Be at peace,
Pastor Steve