My favorite class this semester is social psychology. I love learning counterintuitive ideas. I love learning ways to change my thinking.

One interesting topic came up in class today: priming. It refers to the phenomenon where stimulation can activate an association that temporarily affects a later attitude, behavior, or thought process. For example, when people hear or see the word elderly, they will actually walk slower than if they are primed with the word youthful. Another more everyday example is that when people are primed with words that have to do with failing, it becoms a self-fulfilling prophecy, and they do worse on an exam. It doesn’t even matter how long the you’re exposed to the word; literally a fraction of a second and unconscious priming can alter your subsequent behavior. Pretty interesting, eh?

I know Lent started a week ago, but I have finally decided on what I want to give up this year. Not sweets, not soda pop (I used both names as not to anger anyone), not skipping classes (it’s just not possible). I gave up my mornings. The idea of priming really made me reconsider my behavior. When the sun’s shining and I’ve had a good breakfast, the rest of my day truly is reflective: I’m beaming and I praise God and make time for him. Rain and grey skies tend to elicit the opposing response.

Rather than just reconsidering my behavior, I want the idea of priming to change my behavior. By giving up my mornings to God, I want to start each day with his Word in my head, to remind me that I was given this morning out of grace, and to live accordingly.

How are you priming yourself?

My neighbor is a perpetual liar. And not only that, he is quite skilled at it.

Read this, and tell me if you can imagine anyone else being able to pull this off:

He told someone that there’s this guy who works in our apartment building who’s name is ‘Big Ed.’ The right arm is missing, and in its place is a hook. He has a patch on one eye, and he has a lot of rolls. Not the kind of rolls you’re thinking of, though, I mean bread rolls. He keeps them all by his belly. (Sorry for blowing your cover, Jas).

It’s all somewhat believable up until the point of the bread rolls. And still so many believe him! That’s only one of his lies, his others are just as outrageous at times, but with his panache and experience, he can fool most. The good thing, though, is that they are, for the most part, “safe lies” in that they do not harm anyone, and he never lets someone leave without realizing the falsity.

I happen to be exceptionally susceptible to his lies. After a couple of months of living next to him and falling for his crazy lies each time, I made a decision one day to not be so gullible. He told a story about two kids from church who’s dad had just died because a tree fell on him. I took a stand: “I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true! I’m not kidding this time!”

“I’ve heard that waaay too many times, I’m not falling for it this time.”

And on and on we went until finally he pulled up a newspaper article he had along with an email from a church member recounting his exact story.

I was in disbelief. I was in shame. (The one time he decides to tell the truth, I take a stand!).

Some of us are pretty good at discerning truth from lie, many of us not. In the case of my neighbor, it’s not harmful when we can’t. But what about in other situations? The world spawns liars and thieves in even some of the most discrete places, and I am inclined to believe that many of us have trouble discerning. It could be in television, on your iPod, in the mouth of your buddy, in content on the internet, it could be at church.

It could be at church.

I grew up a church kid, and having known nothing else outside of it, devoured everything I heard indiscriminately. The Bible contains so much text that it is easy for someone to manipulate it and for another to receive unaware. Our world and culture are changing so quickly that churches and youth groups feel the pressure to ‘stay relevant’ to the trend that they abandon hard Biblical truth. Certain teachings have been passed on from place to place, generation to generation, and because they have become popular, nobody thinks twice before repeating it off to the next victim.

My neighbor was certain to reveal his lies as to not harm anyone. Satan is not as considerate.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

16 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

17 They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ (Jeremiah 23:15-17 NIV)

Last night blended into this morning; the two of us neglected sleep for the sake of studying for our first organic chemistry II midterm. This infamous class among pre-health students is not as impossible as some suppose, but there really is a whole lot of material, details, and concepts that are hard to keep track of and integrate for one’s limited brain. It’s the study of everything carbon at the atomic level, basically everything living. It really blows your mind how it all works together. This was my genuine prayer as I neared the end of the studying period and headed into the exam:

Dear God,

I am thankful that although they make us learn all these things and even if I fail today’s exam, I can rest assured that all of these are in your capable hands and the details are no mystery to you. Thank you for life, thank you for being Creator. Amen

“I’m running for President.”

For a fraction of a moment, I was caught off guard. Certainly I did not suppose he had meant of the United States, but still, those words always hold some sort of a stunning air to them.

My friend remarked that he was running for president of the Singapore Student’s Association, an organization that he hardly attends, against his most qualified roommate, and that at that very moment, someone was delivering his campaign speech in his stead because he was there with us at the ACF retreat. Furthermore, this all began because an anonymous person had nominated him.

To humour us more, he recited his speech ad lib.

With his permission, I have copied and pasted a portion of it here. The full version can be found on his blog (http://rabbi-robin.blogspot.com/2008/01/friends-romans.html).

“So why should you vote for me? Why should you vote for someone who hardly shows up for SSA events, who didn’t show up for booth until the very last moment?

I really don’t know. I don’t think any of you hate me. After I started using Paypal for my phone-bills, I think even Zhiquan likes me. And I certainly don’t hate any of you.

But I think it is not extremely healthy when Singaporeans become so comfortable in the company of each other that they become uncomfortable in the company of people from other countries. It is unhealthy that we have chosen to move around in group formation. I feel uncomfortable when Team Singapore, when the Majulah Connection becomes some sort of tribal herd instinct. We’ve come to the U.S. just to feel like N.U.S.

How many of you, when applying for college, decided on an overseas education because you want to experience a new culture?

The thing is, I believe many of you have sold out, and took the easy route by staying within your comfort zones. We sold out those ambitions and dreams to see the world, to be comfortable in different cultures, and to share Singapore.

If I become your president, SSA will not be just a Singaporean support group. It will also be a Singaporean interest group where we welcome both foreign talent and fellow countrymen.”

I do not think it takes a whole lot of speculation to discern where I want to go with this. Indeed, I wish to analogize the said Singaporeans with Christians. My case study: ACF.

Last year as freshmen, the two of us had the reputation at ACF for being the kids who invited the most friends to the Friday night fellowship meetings. I would joyfully and excitedly bring buddies and even new acquaintances along to a place I loved and knew they would learn love.

This year as sophomores, the two of us have the reputation at ACF for being the hospitable kids, now that we have an apartment off-campus. I joyfully and excitedly invite buddies and even new acquaintances to my home that I love.

The significant difference between this year and last is that the focus of my apparent ministry has shifted. Within my open doors, I have hosted many unofficial ACF events that promote fellowship, fun, and encouragement. The problem is that in the process, I have neglected my friends from last year who are outside the realm of ACF.

Here is that portion of my friend’s speech rephrased to say what I believe God is placing on my heart:

I think it is not extremely healthy when Christians become so comfortable in the company of each other that they become uncomfortable in the company of those who are of the world. It is unhealthy that you have chosen to move around in group formation.

How many of you, when applying for college, decided that living away from home would encourage you to abandon your comfort zone and minister to others?

The thing is, I believe many of you have sold out, and took the easy route by staying within your comfort zones. You sold out those ambitions and dreams to minister to the world, to be comfortable in sharing with different people, and to share Christ.

If I become your Lord, ACF will not be just a Christian support group. It will be a Christ-centered group where we welcome both foreign talent and fellow believers.”

Promptly at six o’clock on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, my first phone conversation of the day usually begins like this:

“Hey, I just got out of work. Sorry I missed your call earlier.”

Then the subsequent question, even to those I have already had this conversation with, usually follows as so:

“Oh, really? Where do you work? What do you do?”

I used to tell him or her straight out exactly what it was that I did, but with mixed responses leaning towards the negative end of the spectrum, I have learned to modify the conversation.

If I am unable to size up the person, I’ll ask them if they like animals a lot.

And I will ask you, my reader, that as well. If your answer is a resounding ‘yes’ and you get warm, fuzzy feelings on the inside when you talk about your puppy and treat it like your child, I kindly ask that you please stop reading now.

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As a considerate person, I will also give you a few extra inches of the screen to allow you to divert your eyes before I continue.

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I work at the UPMC Eye & Ear Institute in the Ophthalmology Department. Here’s the punch line you have all been waiting for: I do animal testing on bunny rabbits. White cuddly ones with red eyes and pink ears, in fact. To clarify things and prevent inevitable judgment, we do not torture them or cause them pain. In fact, we treat them like humans and even perform the same clinical procedures on them as doctors do with humans. We do, however, “sack” them all in the end.

It should be pretty apparent why I needed to modify my conversation; not all ears desire to hear something like that. It makes them want to curl up in a ball, point fingers, and call me cruel. I choose not to share this indiscriminately because it’s an uncomfortable topic about something that I’m not even totally comfortable with, and the last thing I want to do is to make them feel unnecessarily uncomfortable. Especially at the beginning of a phone conversation.

It’s pretty easy for me to share with others that I am a Christian, but when I share about Christ, it’s quite a different story. It’s an uncomfortable topic about something that I’m not even totally comfortable with, and the last thing I want to do is to make them feel uncomfortable. And so when we so much as touch upon a topic that could potentially lead into spiritual issues, I size them up. From there, I choose based on his/her level of comfort as well as mine the route the conversation will continue on.

The difference between my first story and this second similar one is that one matters.

It is of no consequence to anyone whether or not they know what I do to earn money for groceries and rent. It is, however, of the utmost importance whether or not they know who Christ really is. I have the sense that many fellow believers struggle with the same brand of story, and if this is so, then I fear that most of this world will have a whole lot of trouble knowing who Christ really is.