Listening to the CBC this morning, I heard about a study done at the University of Michigan recently. They were looking at the effect of thought topic on social interaction, specifically, how people interact when they are thinking about money, or if there is any change in how people interact when they are/were thinking about money.
There were 2 groups.
The first group was given crossword puzzles etc. that they were to complete together as a group, and all the words in the puzzles were about money, salaries etc.
The 2nd group also had puzzles, but with words unrelated to money altogether.
The first group was less patient with each other in working together.
But the main test was afterwards. They put them in with some students in a social situation, this is the part I missed thanks to being asked a question by a toddler, but they were thrown in with students anyway, the circumstance I can't define. Anyway, the people in group #1 were far less likely to ask for help (humility) or to offer help to the students (generosity/service) than the people of group #2.
ALSO, interestingly enough, the people of group #1 distanced themselves from people. When placed on couches with others, group #1 made a point of sitting at least 10% further from their neighbour than people of group #2. The commentator suggested that was due to a primal self- protection instinct, 'guarding what is yours' kinda thing. (greed)
And all this from the subconscious suggestion of thought about money. Very interesting.
We have all heard the verse 1 Timothy 6:10
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..."
The LOVE of money... why does that always get confused with money itself. Little green papers are not intrinsically evil. Anyways, tangent.
It is the LOVE of money, the greed, the not-relying-on-God and trusting Him, but putting one's trust in the dollar (or man, yourself, and your ability to look after yourself), that are at the root of all manner of evils.
Looks to me, if I'm not over-concluding, which I probably am, that we have something in us, be it our sin nature or training from our greedy culture, that even the mere thought of money can begin to draw out darkness in us, including pride, selfishness and greed. Wow.
Just one more reason to be diligent in excercising control over one's thought life.
So here's an old Anna story that I kept forgetting to post.
On this day during lunch, Anna stopped with a start and called to me with huge eyes, while pointing to her belly.
"Mommy! My tummy is bouncing!"
She had the hiccups.
And remember the little crying kid at the church nursery she kept trying to comfort? Turns out he was sick and now Anna is battling that a little too. She got sick in her bed the other night, and this is her retelling of the events the following morning to my Dad on the phone.
*fairly graphic depiction : you have been warned.
"And I was sick! In my woom.. and I was dwipping... and .. and... it was food... and it was in my mouth! and then.... it was in my bed! and.... I choked.. and I coughed.... and...it was not a good idea."
3 comments:
Hey--I just read three new posts from you! It's funny what a week of no internet will do. I just got back from Missouri--KC is really reworking downtown, esp. the farmer's market and the area that surrounds it. The city is actually cleaning up a lot. I always wish I could come into town and see all the same people I remember hanging out with when I was a kid--oh well.
By the way, I love reading your posts, they are so insightful. I never came from a family with a lot of money. If anything I always had to work on finding love and compassion for those who are more fortunate than others (I used to say I had rich-kid-phobia).
Also....
I was watching The Secret of Roan Inish and Fiona reminded me of Anna. Do you see any resemblence there? Because I sometimes am at fault for seeing blond hair and saying oh yeah you have blond hair so you look just like so and so. My kids and I laughed so hard at little naked Jimmy running around--if you can imagine my youngest one looks so much like Jimmy (she's stalky with a head full of dark brown curls)-- Well I am sure this rant should come to an end. Glad to hear you are doing well! Hope Anna gets well soon. We are trying to recover from eating too much at thanksgiving!
Hope you guys are feeling better. We need to continue our conversation sometime soon.
You have no idea what that sort of attitude can be like when you live with it as your way of surviving day to day. I work in retail; I am a commissioned salesman. I can empathize completely with what that study indicates, because it's that environment that's gotten me into a place I don't want to be. I'd love to share more on that sometime, but i don't think blog comments are the best way of doing that.
Post a Comment