My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- March 9, 2008

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March 9, 2008

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

Navigating by GPS, by Lisa Mikitarian

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding (Proverbs 3:5 NIV).

Recently my son, Spencer, asked me to help him prepare for a psychology
mid-term. Of course I said, "Yes." I have learned that a little
psychology in the hands of a minor is a dangerous thing. He would be
tested on several important studies in psychology including one called,
"Are You the Master of Your Fate?" This study contrasted external
verses internal driving forces of behavior.

According to the study, when people believed their lives were
controlled by luck, fate, or "powerful others," they acted from
external controls and tended to live reckless lives because they didn't
believe their own actions mattered. On the other hand, when people
believed their own behavior and decisions were directly responsible for
consequences, they operated from internal controls.

People who operated from internal controls exhibited less risky
behavior, less self-pity, and were generally regarded as healthier and
more stable. According to this study, it is better to be the master of
your own fate.

When Spencer and I reached this point in the review, I asked, "What
about God? Is He lumped in with fate, luck, and 'powerful others' (aka:
tyrants)?"

As a mother of a teenager, I want my son to develop internal controls
and exhibit sound decision-making skills. I want him to know that the
choices he makes will impact him directly.

The question was on whom he would rely

As a follower of Christ, the way this study was framed presented a
problem. My husband and I are teaching our son to rely on God's word
and will in directing his life. This study seemed to say either you
believed you were in control (good), or someone else was in control
(bad), because when someone else was in control you didn't believe in
your ability to influence cause and effect.

Spencer said, "So we're a bunch of unhealthy risk-takers." "Ha, ha --
good one," I answered, scanning the entire chapter -- including the
parts not being tested and therefore unread by my practical son. There
I found it. At the very end of the chapter, I found another example of
science supporting the reality of God.

It seemed that I was not the only person to question this study. Many
participants asked, "What about God?" So another study was conducted --
this time concentrating on people who specified God as their "powerful
other." The results of this study showed people of faith were just as
stable and psychologically healthy as those with an internal locus of
control.

This is when I had the bigger "ah ha" moment. Something was still
missing in the premise of the second study, namely: the specific nature
of Jesus Christ, who once accepted, resides within us. So in addition
to being around us and over us, He resides within us -- making Him both
the internal and external locus of control for our behavior. I wonder
what a properly framed study would show.

This was a classic example of how faulty or incomplete logic in the
academic arena could erode a young person's faith. I told my son he was
the "car's" driver; he had the God-given power to make decisions in
getting to where he was supposed to go. The question was on whom he
would rely when making navigational decisions. He could rely on
himself, faulty maps, and his friends' misconceptions (bad), or he
could rely on his Godly Positioning System (GPS), which was a
completely accurate and objective truth (good). I received the eye roll
my analogy deserved.

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the
majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is
yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over
all (1 Chronicles 29:11).

---------
(c) 2008 Lisa Mikitarian <miks@shentel.net>

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Daily Heartlight -- March 9, 2008