Do You Have a Dinosaur Brain?

Are you a dinosaur? I’m not referring to how old you are, or how big you might be. I’m asking about the way that you think. The human brain has evolved quite a bit from the days that T. Rex and his friends roamed the earth. But at times we can allow our more primitive instincts to take over and control the way that we act and think, and we ignore the higher thought processes that we’re capable of. Or, to word it more spiritually (this is a church message, after all), at times we allow our worldly nature to control us, instead of conforming to the spiritual nature that Christ has won for us.

The session and I are spending this year in spiritual development, in order to become better faith leaders for the congregation. As part of our time at January’s session meeting, we used material by Dave Derby of Gospel Recordings to think about how we can overcome our “dinosaur brains.” He outlined seven rules that control how dinosaurs think. For each rule, we discussed examples of when we’ve seen it at work, and we read Scripture passages which describe the kind of thinking that God calls us to instead. Then we thought about what life in our church would look like if we gave up dinosaur thinking for the mind of Christ. This month, I invite you to do the same thing. Here are the seven rules of dinosaur brains. Think about times when you’ve seen people (maybe yourself!) act according to them. Then read the Scripture passages to learn about what God calls us to instead. Finally, think about how your life would be different if you overcame your own dinosaur brain.

1. Be Dominant: Win at all costs, and be sure to get the last word.
Matthew 20:25-28, James 1:19, Genesis 11:1-8

2. Defend the Territory: Hold on to what is yours and what is important to you.
Genesis 12:1-3, Mark 12:13-17, John 11:45-57

3. Get It Now: Act impulsively for instant gratification, instead of long-term rewards.
Genesis 45:1-7, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, James 4:1-3, 13-17, Proverbs 6:6-11

4. If It Hurts, Hiss: Blame someone else if things go wrong.
Numbers 14:1-4, Proverbs 19:3, Matthew 7:1-5, Romans 2:1-4

5. Get the Mate: Do what it takes to make yourself as impressive or attractive as possible.
Acts 5:1-11, 1 Samuel 16:1-12, Matthew 23:1-12, Mark 12:38-40, Luke 14:7-11

6. Like Me = Good, Not Like Me = Bad: Only trust people who are like you.
Luke 9:49-50, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

7. Fight, Flight, or Freeze: Protect yourself from danger, ridicule, or rejection.
Matthew 6:25-33, Luke 9:22-26, John 15:9-17