The Sowing Seeds Perspective

A friend recent had a weird experience on the road.

Late one night, he was on a taxi on his way home. The roads were clear. The taxi took the opportunity to speed up unwary that the traffic light turned red. Out of nowhere the taxi was pulled over by the police. When the taxi came to a stop, the driver merely pulled out a bill from his wallet. The police took the bribe. The taxi happily went on its way. Everything happened faster than my friend could blink. He recounted his experience here.

It’s corruption in the streets at night. Small time yet makes you doubt if there really is no corruption in the higher positions.

Makes you wonder how such an idea came into existence. Did someone planted on their minds to think that they could get whatever they want as long as they belong to some form of authority?

This notion brings to mind the one of the highest grosser of 2010, Inception. Though I don’t agree to or believe in most of the film’s plot, I could still relate to the fact that a small idea or belief when implanted or learned by a person would impact the way he decides on things. Except that the idea or belief would not be implanted through a dream.

One small idea could change everything.

It’s true and it happens in the real world.

A psychologist named B.F. Skinner propounded the Operant Conditioning. He toyed with the idea that any internal thoughts or motivations could not explain the behavior of people. Instead, he focused on the external. He believed that the things that happen to people on a daily basis lead them to formulate an idea and turn their response to it into a behavior. The conditioning works on the use of reinforcements, things that strengthen the behavior; and punishment, things that decreases the behavior.

I’ve seen reinforcements work with children. Whenever they do something good or favorable, like saying their name or smiling, they get praises or a sweet treat which leads them to do the same thing again to get the same reward. This gives them the idea that if I do this often, I get something good in return. It can also happen negatively. Such as in order to avoid getting scolded by parents or getting an angry response, I should smile or talk or look cute.

On the other hand, punishment could also happen positively or negatively. Positive is when you add the punishment to a wrong behavior. Simply put, when a child does something wrong, you immediately give them a form of punishment like scolding. It is said to be negative when you remove something to stop the behavior. Take for example two kids who fight over a toy, when you get toy from them, they learn that it is wrong to fight over a toy because it will be taken away from them.

All of this information and more could be obtained and studied online which makes me wonder why I bothered to put it here. You can read more of it on psychology.about.com. Yet the whole conditioning process only tells us that it takes small things to affect your reality, your decisions, your beliefs, your opinions and your personality.

More proof that small ideas create a big impact in our lives could be seen in the past. The third chapter of Ellen G. White’s The Great Controversy tells us a gripping story of how things came to be. When all the tortures stopped, Satan used a different tactic to destroy the spread of God’s word. He attacked from the inside. His inside job was so great, we could even feel it today.

“Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church.” GC

The name of the game is stealth. In secret, the enemy infiltrated the ranks of the Early Church. Politicians, people in power recognized the growing Christian church as a rising power. Thus, it would be logical to join their ranks. Foremost of these men was the emperor himself, Constantine, decided to be converted into Christianity. Legend has it though that when Constantine and his men were baptized, their whole body was immersed but their swords were drawn out, insinuating that their body maybe baptized but never whole heartedly.

Eventually, changes were introduced. The same way Satan tempted Christ was the same way the enemy injected false doctrines to the Early Christian Church. He tried in small increments, and sadly, he succeeded.

Satan first tempted Christ with bread. He didn’t succeed. Jesus just had too much of the will of the Father to withstand simple physical hunger. Satan tried once more with Christ’s early followers. He gave them riches and wealth. Satan apparently succeeded. “The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now, the work of corruption rapidly progressed.” GC

Satan tested Christ’s power. He wanted to make sure that Christ would use His Godly powers to save Himself from harm, or at least call on angels to save Him. Apparently Christ was again the winner. Satan didn’t even stand a chance. Yet when Satan tried the same temptation on Christ’s followers, they seemed to enjoy the power. “To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the favor and support of the great men of earth; and having thus rejected Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan,—the bishop of Rome. It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled “Lord God the Pope,” and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men. The same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation, is stil urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to yield him homage.” GC

I am sure a lot of Roman Catholics would be enraged by these statements, but history tells it all. The Catholic popes of the past have committed a lot of atrocities ever imagined. They even dethroned kings and monarchs. They have even supported and financed wars. It may not be so today, but the past tell all. We cannot deny that these things did happen.

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Matthew 4:8-10.

Finally, the devil tried to change worship. He failed with Christ, but he seemed to have a hey day with Christ’s supposedly followers. The worship day of the pagans was introduced as a festive day for everyone. The decree was announced to avoid a conflict of interest and to keep the pagans and Christians at bay. Sabbath was still observed, but its essence was slowly being drawn away from the people, leaving the impression on most people that it was only an important day for the Jews. The pope also introduced saints, purgatory, indulgences, and the inquisition. It made radical changes with the way Christians worship back then.

Today, most all of Christianity congregates on a Sunday. Sure you can worship God anytime, any day, but Sabbath was the day God hallowed and blessed during creation. People are still being canonized as saints, an act that only God could do. Purgatory and indulgences may not be as popular as they were back then, but the idea seemed to exist in the hearts of people in the form of visiting spirits, ghosts and other haunting creatures. Although the inquisition seemed to have died down, it has caused a lot of death and torture to people who have fallen from the grace of the pope.

Small things make big changes. Small ideas implanted in the mind affect life itself.

These may have brought sad changes, but the story never ended there. Satan may have planted a lot of seeds of discord among the Christians, but Christ already won the war with His sacrifice on the cross. In the end, all we have to do is to look at that sacrifice and things will become clearer.

^“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

Hebrews 12:1-3

Now, plant this in your head.