We only use ten percent of our brain.
Myths like these we’ve heard since we were old enough to understand we weren’t as smart as others. The implication is we could be smarter if we’d only dig deeper into our brain cells. Science has pretty much destroyed this concept by its use of scans to show virtually every part of the brain functions most of the time, with the exception of when we sleep.
If we learn how the brain sends signals to wiggle our toes, change the direction of our steps, or re-wire when we suffer a brain injury, we’ll find out there is no hard-wiring. The nerves transmitting the signals are not one continuous strand, like what we think of as wire. Nerves are short sections of cells with gaps called synapses. These contain neurotransmitters, which are the real reason neurons communicate brain instructions to our body parts.
As you read this devotion, your brain gathers the info and then sends a bunch of signals through your mind, all without a single solid nerve “wire.” Somewhat like a series of radio towers bouncing info across the land.
Paul wrote Romans to encourage Christians to continually refresh their minds—especially by reviewing and living the instructions given to them. He knows there’s a gap between God in heaven and saints on earth. That gap can short circuit and cause us to return to our old ways. Yet there’s a connection impossible to understand until we accept the miracle of the Creator. God not only established our physical brain and nervous system, He also gave the spiritual design of the Holy Spirit, our helper.
Like the synapses with their neurotransmitters, the Holy Spirit resides within us to make the connection to God. We simply must follow the edification by Paul to renew our mind by reading the Scriptures and letting God into the depths of our brain. He’s already established the higher order of humans in the world’s realm of intelligence. He’s waiting for us to believe it, and Him.
Ask God to help you pay attention to His signals.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Warren Johnson self-published a novel years ago and works at bringing the sequel up to industry standards. He lives with his wife of forty six years, Barbara, in northwestern South Carolina. He fathered three kids and loves the ten-child descendants they bring to the table. Motorcycling and radio control airplanes use up some retirement time.