Big Idea #1 from Me
In the 19th century, the scientific consensus was that the realm of matter was separate from the realm of energy. That changed in 1905 when Albert Einstein introduced his theory of special relativity. This theory shows the relationship between energy and matter, and is generally known as E = MC^2. In other words, Einstein showed that matter was a form of energy, and energy was a form of matter.
So, how did Einstein arrive at this conclusion?
Einstein tried to imagine what he would see if he could run after a light wave – at the speed of light. Now, light moves at about 670 million meters per second. At that speed, it would take less than 1/5th of a second to travel from Lagos in Nigeria to London in the UK! Through his thought experiment, Einstein realized that it will never be possible to outrun a light wave. No matter how fast you try to run, light waves will always be faster than you.
To take the idea further, Einstein imagined what would happen to the person who was already approaching the speed of light but still wanted to travel faster. Well, as the person approaches the speed of light, any effort exerted to make him outrun the light wave will not make the individual any faster. Why? Because nothing can outrun light. What would happen instead is that the energy exerted will be converted to mass. An external observer that could see things moving as they approached the speed of light would actually see the person’s mass become bigger and bigger as more effort was exerted. Of course, from the running person’s point of view, everything remains the same – hence the term “relativity”.
The ideas from Einstein’s thought experiments have revolutionized our understanding of the universe. What is remarkable is the fact that Einstein was a theoretical physicist. He did not have any labs or run experiments. Yet, by harnessing the power of his imagination, Einstein gave the world an equation that has been proven to have numerous practical applications, from nuclear energy, to radiocarbon dating, to PET scans among others.
The question today is fairly straightforward: What are you doing with your own imagination?
Big Idea #2 from Research
A life that is plagued with poor decisions is like a watch with dead batteries – the times are more awry than it needs to be.
If you are serious about improving the quality of your life, you need to be more conscious of one simple thing that everyone overlooks 90% of the time.
It’s Opportunity Costs.
So, what are Opportunity Costs? This is best explained with an example.
Suppose you have the option of choosing between vegetables and chocolate. If you opt for the chocolate, your opportunity cost is not just the vegetables, but the flat tummy and healthier body you’ve always wanted.
The same thing happens when you have to choose between scrolling mindlessly on Instagram and taking action on the online program you just purchased. As before, if you choose Instagram, your opportunity cost is not just the time you would have spent on the online course, but also the rewards the specialized knowledge could have brought you in the future.
As you can see, in spite of our best intentions, as humans, we find a way to not act in our best interests. As a result, the quality of our lives continues to plummet.
But it is not all tales of doom.
You can improve the quality of your life, and one way to do that is to be more conscious of opportunity costs when you make decisions.
One way to do that is to plan your resources (time, money, energy, etc.) in advance.
In his 2011 paper, Opportunity Cost Consideration, Stephen A. Spiller wanted to examine how sensitive people were to opportunity costs in their decision making. In his study of 242 people, Spiller discovered that respondents who planned how they spent their income were more likely to consider opportunity costs than their counterparts who did not plan.
What’s the point here?
If you want to improve your consciousness of opportunity costs, you need to plan ahead of time when you’re not under any pressure to choose! While this obviously applies to money, you can see the same effect in various aspects of life. For instance, when you plan your day ahead of time, you’re less likely to ‘waste’ time on activities and choices that can derail you from your desirable destination
Big Idea #3 from the Bible
As he walks about the pulpit, wiping his favorite brow with his padded handkerchief, a motivational preacher would typically whip his audience into a frenzy with the following words:
“And I shouted, ‘God!’ and instantly He replied to me, ‘Yes, my son!’. Then I told Him, ‘Move this mountain, Lord!’ and He said, ‘Yes, my son! Would that be all?’”
When I encounter these kinds of sermons, I cannot help but wonder about the image of God these preachers have about the Ancient of Days.
From my admittedly limited understanding of God, I know He is not….
…a talkative God;
…a God you can wrap around your little finger;
…a God that is waiting on you just to serve all your whims;
…an inferior God.
Without mincing words, it appears to me that a lot of the earlier referenced preachers have taken a lot of liberties with Isaiah 45:11, which says,
“Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and His Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hand, command ye me”
So, they see the phrase, “Command ye me” and then proceed to exercise their “authority” over the LORD Almighty.
Funny, isn’t it?
To understand the meaning of a Bible verse in its context, it pays to read the preceding and succeeding verses.
Verse 10 of Isaiah 45 says, ”Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? Or to his mother, What hast thou brought forth?”
Now, this is getting interesting!
From Isaiah 45:10, it is apparent that verse 11 is a question!!!
In essence, God is saying: Inasmuch as you can’t question your parents about why they gave birth to you or why you have certain features in your physique, you also can’t question His purpose regarding you!
He’s not asking you to command Him.
Instead, God is saying, “You shouldn’t dare to command Me!”
Well, that should settle this issue.
If you still have doubts, let’s check verses 12 and 13:
“I have made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city and shall ket go my captives, not for price or reward, saith the LORD of hosts”
Regardless of what we declare, decree or command, it is His Will and Purpose for our lives that would stand in the end.
Don’t waste your time commanding Jehovah to do your own selfish, lustful desires. We are not meant to command God. We are meant to do His own will and bidding.
Do yourself a favour: Whenever you pray, instead of commanding God, find His perfect will by His Spirit; and pray in that line.
Remember, swimming upstream causes you to expend a lot of energy while you cover very little ground. On the other hand, flowing with the tide is both easier and rewarding.
May the Lord grant you understanding in these things.
