who is in control the elephant or the rider ?

 

Title: Who’s In Control: The Elephant Or The Rider?

Author: Wesley G. Shaw: PhD

In their recent best seller, “Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard,” behavior economists, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, make a unique presentation on the factors necessary to achieve positive change in a persons life. They begin their illustration with the metaphor of the elephant and the rider from the book, “The Happiness Hypothesis,” by Jonathan Heit.The elephant represents our emotional side while the rider is the rational side. Sitting on top of the elephant, the rider holds the reins and seems to be in control, however, his position is precarious at best. The elephant’s appetite is insatiable, and when ungoverned may express itself in compulsive unplanned behavior such as uncontrolled impulsive buying.According to “About.com,” advertising research, approximately 66 percent of all purchases are made in the store and 53 percent of those purchases are made on impulse. The Heaths maintain that for positive changes to occur in our financial and other behavior, we must develop a three part frame work.Firstly, direct the rider–there must be provision for a plan with crystal clear direction (budget in the case of finance). Secondly, motivate the elephant–the rider cannot forcefully get his way long term, the emotional side must be engaged in the plan (deferred gratification and reward). Thirdly, shape the path–you must make adjustments along the way to balance and harmonize the temperament needs of both the rider and the elephant (synergism of the rational and emotional sides).Of this dual phenomenon, the philosopher Plato said that, “In our heads we have a rational charioteer who has to rein in an unruly horse that barely yields to horse whip and goad combined.” Psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud, wrote about the selfish Id (base emotion) and the conscientious super ego (rational), with the Ego as the mediator between the two.More recently, behavioral economists have defined the two systems as the planner and the doer. The late Christian Psychiatrist, M. Scott Peck, Md., in his best seller, “The Road Less Traveled and Beyond,” observed that our thought processes are ten percent conscious and 90 percent unconscious.While the 10 percent is the rational side, the 90 percent unconscious is the deep emotional reservoir and memory bank of life experiences having inestimable impact on our behavior. Perhaps it is that unconscious area that the Bible speaks of as the heart and says that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 In Romans Chapter 7:22,25 the Apostle Paul speaks of this dual phenomenon as a continuing battle between the law of his mind (rational) and the law of his members (emotional) concluding that deliverance and victory over this struggle comes only through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. David in Ps. 119:11 said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”Speaking of the heart in the Beatitudes, Matt.5:8, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” The blessedness comes not simply in knowing about the Lord but in seeing and knowing him on a personal level. Speaking of Himself, Jesus said that, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).In defining the impact of His light on our total being He concludes, “If thy whole body (being) therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light” (Luke 11:36). When the light of His countenance permeates our whole being (both heart and mind) we will be at one in His spirit. At that point, neither the rider nor the elephant will be in control. Control will be in the hands of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Heath, Chip & Dan, Switch; How To Change Things When Change Is Hard, Broadway Books, New York, 2010

Peck, M. Scott, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998

Compassionate Conservative: An Oxymoron?

In 2000, the then candidate for president, George W. Bush, used the label, “compassionate conservative,” to describe his personal approach to governance. He proposed it as an innovation as if it was somewhat contrary to the conservative tradition.The media immediately labeled the term an oxymoron and proceeded to vilify conservatives in general and the so called, “religious right,” in particular for what it deemed their collective lack of compassion and charity for the less fortunateIn his new book, “Who Really Cares,” Professor Arthur Brooks of Syracuse Universitydispels the media statements as completely inaccurate and unsubstantiated, revealing and validating the surprising truths about compassionate conservatism. Professor Brooks has been researching the data on charitable giving for about ten years. Raised in a liberal home, he attended liberal Ivy League schools. He assumed that the incoming data in his research would surely substantiate his liberal views on compassion.To the contrary, he found that although liberals spoke much about compassionate giving, their idea of charity was, in fact, government redistribution of income. This giving through forced taxes, he says, is not compassionate charitable giving. He says that the true flag to identify compassion is self sacrificial charitable giving, in which conservatives surpassed liberals on average with thirty percent more money ($1600.00 to $1227.00 per year average).Conservatives gave more not just for religious causes but also to secular charities like United Way and Red Cross and also gave more blood. Brook points out that this charitable giving added immensely to the well being of the nation in many and varied ways. The charitable acts such as giving and volunteering tended to strengthen social networks between people, providing employment possibilities, business opportunity, and access to financial capital.The research showed that the social networks were important to health, and the more people socialized with each other, the happier they were. Jesus spoke about the dynamic reciprocal aspect of giving when he said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give onto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)It wasn’t necessarily the size of the gift that impressed Jesus, as demonstrated in the story of the widow and the two mites. He said, “Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:43.44)Her gift represented total sacrificial giving of what she needed for her provision. While the subject of giving is extensively mentioned in the Bible, there is one act of giving that was so profound that Jesus said is would be mentioned as a memorial wherever the Gospel was preached. The gift was multifaceted including deep soul searching contrition and repentance, extravagant emotional expressions of love, extravagant praise and worship, and extravagant giving of material possessions (approx. $30,000 content value in alabaster box), and including the life of the giver.This act of giving recorded in Matt. 26:7 represented by the sinner woman and her alabaster box was memorialized possibly because it so parallels the extravagant giving of Jesus. During his life, Jesus gave extravagantly of his love and his healing virtue. On the cross he gave extravagantly of his blood and ultimately his life. The word of God says that in eternity the Lord will give extravagantly to his children.As heirs and joint heirs with Christ in everything that he possesses, those who have suffered with him, will also be gloried with him. (Romans 8:17) We also, in our life time have the opportunity, like the woman memorialized, to give extravagantly to our Lord.Our charitable giving can be expressed in compassionate extravagance; extravagant praise and worship, extravagant financial giving, extravagant love, extravagant ministry and service, extravagant testimony, extravagant life, etc. etc. etc.