Thought for Today
Genesis 4:2 Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.
Matthew 14:19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
John 8:6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
“The concept of left-brained vs. right-brained individuals is based on the two hemispheres of the brain’s cerebrum. However, research suggests that this theory is not entirely accurate, and there is typically no overall dominant side. Nevertheless, some general characteristics associated with each hemisphere include:
· Left Brain: Verbal analytical, orderly, better at reading, writing, and computations.
· Right Brain: Visual, intuitive, creative. According to the theory, the left side is adept at logical tasks, while the right side excels in artistic and spontaneous tasks.” (Bing search)
The left-brained vs. right-brained concept was much in vogue when I studied business in college and concentrated on Behavioral Management. It does offer us a convenient explanation for some of the differences we encounter within our societies. Yet, there are professions which seem to straddle that left/right divide, requiring skill from both sides of the brain. Some of the individuals in those professions even have hobbies on ‘both sides.’ When I volunteered in Houston’s Medical Center, I became aware of a band known as The Heartbeats. “The Heartbeats, formerly The Heartstrings and later the Jazz Medics, is a big band made up of medical doctors. In 1965, Dr. Denton A. Cooley and Dr. Grady L. Hallman, both of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, started a band made up of doctors.” (Bing search)
Obviously, heart surgeons must be analytical, orderly, adept at reading, writing and computations. But, open-heart surgery requires the practitioners to be intuitive and creative, spontaneous and even a bit artistic.
Modern medicine as well as many other endeavors requires skills from both sides of the brain. We read and hear much today about STEM, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Educators focus on encouraging students to take interest in STEM. Business leaders call for graduates in STEM. As an engineer, I know that our world would be a much poorer place if everyone focused exclusively on STEM.
I often joke that seminary was the first college experience I had where there was no requirement to take a mathematics class. I quickly found out that I was much more comfortable with the quadratic equation than I was with some of what I encountered in my Systematic Theology classes. I also noted that most of the other students were not engineers. In fact, in seminary and in my time as a minister, I have encountered few engineers who were ministers. Yet, in my time as a practicing engineer, I encountered few engineers who were not Christians. Faith obviously straddles both sides of our brains.
Was Cain right or left brained? Was David? Was Jesus? None of them appear to have studied or practiced anything related to STEM; although, turning 5 loaves and 2 fishes into enough food to feed “Matthew 14:21 . . . about five thousand men, besides women and children” certainly demonstrated skill from both sides of Jesus’ brain. Of course, as the Incarnate Creative Word of God, Jesus obviously was capable of doing so.
Left brained, right brained, STEM or non-STEM, faith straddles both sides of our brains. Faith can unite our brains, our thoughts, our words, our deeds in service to our Creator God. And, as Paul told the Ephesians, “2:8 by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Stay safe, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray