Life’s Principle: Evolve to Survive: Replicate Strategies that Work: Repeat successful approaches
What is the quote misattributed to Einstein? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I am very familiar with replicating strategies that do not work, so finding an example of one that does might be difficult. Except, we’re talking about the Bible, and one successful approach to life in the Bible were laws. The Pentateuch, a word for the first five books of the Old Testament, was full of laws, over 600 of them. The books are sometimes fittingly referred to as the books of the law. The Sadducees were an elitist faction that believed the written laws were to be interpreted literally. The Pharisees honored the oral tradition and were less literal in their interpretation of the laws. Both factions were addressed by Jesus after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Laws seem to have been a successful approach for living life, but Jesus thought they not only needed a refresher regarding the laws, but another approach regarding the laws. In Matthew 5:21-22a Jesus says, “You have heard it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[c] and whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment.” (Tree of Life Version) This expanded the intent of the law to include not only physical actions, but thoughts, the whole as true meaning. This example followed Jesus saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, English Standard Version) This was a successful approach to teaching the laws and the fullness of what they meant. Jesus furthers this approach in the same interaction with the Pharisees and Sadducees when asked which was the greatest commandment. “He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being,[c] and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.[d] All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22: 37-40, Common English Bible) I would be remiss if I did not look at this scripture more closely to see Jesus’s second approach, the one Jesus gave as the fulness and fulfillment.
In Exodus 20: 1-17, the Ten Commandments were given to God’s people. The first three are regarding humans’ relationship to God. The last six are regarding humans’ relationships to each other. The fourth commandment, the Sabbath, is a bridge that encompasses relationships between God and creation: humans and non-human creation. That was the Old Testament, but now we have Jesus who was the full expression of the laws and he summed them up with Love God and Love Neighbor. Jesus gave us the example to think more deeply about the intent of the law. If we are to love God, are we not to love all that God loves, all that God created? And if we remember our place in creation, as a piece with responsibility to the whole, do our neighbors now look more like the community of creation?
We humans have a tendency to read all of the Christian scriptures with an anthropocentric lens. What does the Christian Bible have to say about and to us? What does the Christian Bible teach us about God? How does the Christian Bible use non-human creation to teach us about God? To love the Lord our God with all of our heart, our being, and mind requires attention, meditation, and action to the God revealed not only in the Christian Scriptures, but in the God-made creation.
Replicate Strategies that Work: Arapaima fish
Life replicates strategies that work. Behaviors that are successful are reinforced and reproduced. These behaviors are taught to or mimicked by offspring or members in the community.
In order to survive the waters in the Amazon where piranhas live, the Arapaima fish’s scales have evolved into two-layers of armor. The outer layer is hard to resist piranha attacks and the inner layer is softer and flexible to recover from an attack. Collagen helps connect the layers in a Bouligan structure which helps distribute the force of an attack to reduce the impact!
DivineSite
“He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being,[c] and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.[d] All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22: 37-40, Common English Bible)
How do you love God? Be honest with yourself.
Imagine a person you love. How do you love them?
Here are some suggestions you may want to include if you haven’t already: learn something about what they love, spend time together doing something they love, pay attention to what they love, what is the motivation behind loving what they love… If these helped you think of others, include those now.
Draw a heart around the similarities in how you love God and love someone. Are there words without a heart? If you could begin to love the others in these ways, put a circle around the words. How will you put the circled words into action this week?
Who is your neighbor?
Go for a walk in your home or work neighborhood. When you return, write down all of your neighbors? Draw a heart around the similarities. Draw a square around the rest. Why were these not originally written down as your neighbors? Be honest (with no judgment) and curious about your answers. You may need to ask yourself more questions. (Again, no judgment. Judgment doesn’t feel good and it prevents us from seeing and learning how to do better.)
Did you include creation as your neighbors or only humans? Write down the non-human creation you encountered.
Why should we expand our definition of neighbor to include non-human creation? Throughout the Bible, God shares God’s love for all creation. Should we not also love what the creator loves? Should this not inform the way we live in this world? Write down three ways you can be a better neighbor.
(Just checking. You did include ALL of creation and not just humans?)