For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:...
Proverbs 23:7a
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) concluded, *"We become what we think about. ... Your thoughts are making you."*
At the university one of the topics I studied in Sociology is *socialisation.*
Socialisation is a process by which a person learns to behave in an acceptable manner *within the society or group. It refers to the way by which the values and norms of the society or group become a part of the individual's own way of thinking and feeling.*
This concept emphasises the effect of the environment ie geography on how a person think and behave differently from those who grew up in a different geographical setting. Additionally, socialisation postulates that one's cultural and social setting shapes ones thought life and for that matter one's world view about life and how it must be lived.
When one is socialised premised on western (Europe and American civilization) culture, values and norms it is normal to think the whole world dress, think and eat the way you dress, think, eat et cetera. A visit to the East or Orient especially to mainland China, would change one's world view about life. Mainland China has not been socialised by the West. The power to make you think and behave like the Orient or Westner is what is called in Strategic Studies as Soft Power. The world's big powers quest of control in contemporary times is achieved through the projection of their soft power. The West especially combines both hard and soft power. China is massively using soft power as it is a subtle weapon.
So apart from genetics which is internal or inherent from one's parents or family, our environment and life experiences shapes our relational behaviour.
To reinforce this fact I crave your indulgence to narrate the story of the six blind men and an elephant:
There is a story about six blind men who heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to their town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. They decided to confirm their curiosity and differences about what an elephant looks like by having the experience of feeling or touching one as they were blind...
The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. *"An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!"* he declared. "It must be very powerful."
The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's limber trunk. *"An elephant is like a giant snake,"* he announced.
The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right," he decided. *"This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear."*
The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. *"What we have here," he said, "is an extremely large cow."*
The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. *"I believe an elephant is like a huge fan or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over mountains and treetops,"* he said.
The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. *"Why, this is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed,"* he scoffed.
The parable of the blind men and an elephant originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has been widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other.
As we are socialised as a child through to our present status our perception about how life is and should be lived is based on what we went through during the process of socialisation. The effect of socialisation on one's lifestyle and social life in particular is so strong such that some believe formal education does not and cannot erase completely one's formative experiences vis-a-vis one's behaviour. People access and preempt others' behaviour or course of action based on their experiential knowledge. They process what they see and hear premised on their experiential knowledge. This creates a lot of altercations in group interaction and relationships between two individuals.
That's why bible says in
Romans 12:2 that: *'Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.*'
The greatest mystery of life is the experience of being born again. The experience of being born again is the only potent force that transforms one's character. There is complete and total transformation. We are metamorphosed from the old sinful nature into the new nature of righteousness through Christ Jesus.
But bible does not stop at the transformation of the human spirit at the new birth. Romans 12:2 admonishes us to continue the process by transforming our soul (the power to think, feel and decide). Before and at the new birth our thought life, emotions and decisions are premised on our genetics and socialisation. Hence a man marries a woman from different parents (genetics) and environment (socialisation) and they have the daunting task of living in harmony. They can only relate to each other premised on their experiential knowledge. Hence a spouse coming from a previous casual relationship which did not end up in marriage due to cheating have difficulties trusting his or her spouse. Trust must be earned and built over a period. The fastest and enduring method of building and earning trust between couples, friends, and amongst colleagues, groups, siblings, et cetera is living Romans 12:2. The two will find a common ground to relate when they are metamorphosed by the infallible Word of God. The group will find a common ground to interact when they are metamorphosed through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus in Romans 12:2.
The Word of God is the only enduring power to cause two people from different genetics and socialisation to become one and think and behave in the same manner without altercations. It is the only experiential knowledge that can be common and uniform for all members of the group.
Go for the Word of God and when you get hold of it, keep saying it; don't stop talking it. It will make you what it talks about. When you stick to the infallible Word of God you will come back with a testimony.
Bro Ritchie Edukwesi WOANYA