A Hunting He Will Go

Bats emit an ultrasonic call and then locate their prey by the echoes they hear in return. While many moths can hear this call and skirt an attack, there is one species of bat they don’t often escape. The barbastelle bat is a very successful hunter that consumes large numbers of moths daily. Until recently, many researchers assumed that these moths were earless and thus unable to hear their enemy approaching. As it turns out, though, the barbastelle preys almost exclusively on moths that have ears.

A team of researchers uncovered the secret of barbastelle's success. This bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey–it whispers. Whereas moths can detect other bats more than 30 meters away, the barbastelle can get as close as 3.5 meters to the moth without being detected. By whispering, the bat can hear the echo from an unsuspecting moth before it even becomes aware of its hunter.

Our enemy uses this technique on us too. He especially seeks those with ears to hear his rhetoric. Listen how our adversary tried to consume Job by whispering lies that God didn’t care about him (Job 4): "A word was secretly brought to me; my ears caught a whisper of it. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. I heard a hushed voice: If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever."

Sometimes as Christians, we put on our armor and stand with our hands on our hips; we dare the enemy speak death over us. And as we proudly stand there with our fists in the air, rebuking his calls, and evading his obvious attacks, we fall prey to the whispers. The Bible says that all of our enemies whisper together against us; they imagine the worst for us (Psa 41:7-8).

So what are we to do in these times when we’re standing firm yet being hunted by the enemy? We listen for another voice. Whether we turn to the right or left, our ears will hear a voice behind us saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Is 30:21) And as we walk with God, let the only echo the enemy hears be the Holy Spirit resonating in our lives.

Fishing in the Dark

Psychoactive drugs include antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and painkillers. Abuse of these drugs continues to increase, and as a result, the drugs excreted in urine and feces are making their way through waste water and into our rivers and estuaries. This drug migration into our coastal areas is causing shrimp and other marine life to become drug users too.

A recent study investigated changes in shrimp behavior when they were exposed to various psychoactive drugs at the same levels found in waste water. The results of the study were astounding and showed that shrimp behavior was dramatically affected. In fact, the shrimp were five times more likely to swim toward light following exposure to the drug. According to these findings, drugs make shrimp swim toward light, thus making them more likely to be eaten by fish or birds.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. He said that whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). In addition, the Bible often uses the sea to represent humanity. Jesus was using this symbolism when He said, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19) We know that there are people lost in a sea of darkness. So, how can we as Christian use this information in conjunction with the research?

Just like the intoxicated shrimp who swim toward the light, drug abusers seek a seemingly lighter life that’s free of cares, and this make them more likely to be swallowed up by death. Every day, folks are drowning in the sea of humanity; they are being poisoned by toxic waste waters. We need to give these people something other than drugs – something that will draw them to Jesus instead of death. We need to turn on His light in us and fish them out of their darkness.

Monkey See, Monkey Say

Humans are imitators, whether they know it or not. We unintentionally mimic other folks, especially in terms of mannerisms, facial expressions, and speech (including voice inflections, talking speed, and style).

Researchers at the University of California recently investigated this unintentional imitation. They instructed a group of normal hearing individuals with no formal lip-reading experience to watch a silent video of someone speaking a list of words. After each word, the test subjects were to identify that word by saying it out loud clearly and quickly. They were never asked to imitate the silent person on the video. The researchers found that when people say aloud what they’ve lip read, their speech sounds like that of the talker. In fact, the words spoken by the test subjects sounded more like the lip-read words of the talker (whom was never heard and only seen) as compared with the words the subjects spoke when simply reading from a list.

While this interesting research will help to shed light on speech recognition, there is a deeper, more fundamental principle to be gleaned here. Basically, we sound like those around us act —and— they sound like we act.

Think about it. For example, if we are surrounded by people who act crabby and irritable, does our language sound upbeat and happy? Probably not. Chances are we sound more like them. We are mimickers by nature.

So, every now and then we all need a good sound check. We need to stop and ask ourselves what do I sound like and what do those around me sound like. If we don’t enjoy what we hear, then either we’re acting bad and causing others to mimic us by grumbling, or we’re mimicking the actions of other cranky folks with our speech. Either possibility requires us to refocus our attention.

The Bible warns us to not imitate the detestable ways of others (Deut 18:9). Instead, we are to remember our leaders who speak the word of God to us and imitate their faith (Heb 13:7). Ultimately, we should imitate the ways of Jesus so that when others watch and mimic us, they sound pleasing to the Lord.

Quiet Eye

Expert golfers use a technique called the Quiet Eye. They line up the putt using quick, alternating fixations between the ball and the hole. Then right before and during the stroke, they hold a steady gaze on the back of the ball for around 2 to 3 seconds. After putting the ball, the golfer continues to hold his eyes steady for a further half a second.

To assess the benefits of the Quiet Eye technique, researchers recently measured the putting performance of a group of golfers before and after learning the procedure. The golfers realized an immediate improvement in their putting accuracy; they sank 6% more of their putts and reduced their average number of putts by two per round.

The Quiet Eye technique is effective because it allows the golfer to notice only the necessary visual information required to make the shot. It also benefits novice golfers by improving their learning speed and helping them to maintain performance under pressure.

Well, I admit–I’m not a golfer. In fact, I’ve never played. However, I can see multiple uses for this Quiet Eye technique.

The Bible says that a discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth (Pro 17:24 NIV). In other words, keep your eye on the ball.

So many times we find ourselves in the same situation over and over again. We putt all around an important decision, never quite nailing the shot. Perhaps if we would use this Quiet Eye technique and focus on what is really important, we’d be able to sink the putt and decrease the number of bad attempts to get through the situation. By using this technique regularly, we could get out of messes more quickly and operate better when under pressure.

Golf training isn’t just for athletes; it can work for us too. The Bible says that everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever (1 Chron 9:25 NIV).