Monday, February 13, 2012

WORDS

I bought a movie the other day—The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner. More violent than my usual but I felt led to watch it. I learned several things from the film, which is set in the land I was born in, Saudi Arabia. The film is about a team of FBI operatives who fly into the capital, Rhiyadh, to try to solve a terrorist plot. In one scene, one of the agents is swearing profusely. Their Saudi Policeman host asks him in no uncertain terms to stop. Our agent seems a bit surprised by this, but out of respect for their culture, he complies.

I have thought much over the years about the power of words. The Bible claims that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (!). And that by our words we will be justified and by our words, condemned. Wow! Something so simple as words have the power to bring us into heaven or send us to hell.

If you're like me, you struggle sometimes to believe all that the Bible says. Those of us with a scientific background are used to having evidence. Well now there is some. By way of background, there has been a debate in scientific circles for decades about the role of environment vs. heredity as to their respective effects on human life and society. My father, a Professor of Public Health at Harvard, used to refer to this as “Nature vs Nurture”. The debate over which has the upper hand in determining what kind of people we become has swung back and forth over the past 40 years or so.

One other background point--Neuroscience has made incredible advances over the past 15 to 20 years, so much so that my wife, a Physician, felt she needed to buy a new textbook to help catch up on some of the new understandings that have emerged since she was in Medical School. Now bear with me as I attempt a brief foray into genetic science. One of the new areas of study is that of gene expression. It turns out that who we are is not only determined by our genetic makeup, i.e. what genes we are born with. It is also influenced by which genes are “expressed”, or turned on by what is called the “epigene”, the part of the genome on top of the DNA which actually codes for our individual characteristics.

Dr Caroline Leaf, a Christian neuroscientist, reports the result of a fascinating experiment that reinforces the incredible influence of our environment and in particular our words. Samples of DNA were extracted from a number of researchers. The DNA was normal. For a period of time, half of the researchers spoke all kinds of negative words in the room . They then examined the DNA again. It had shriveled up and become largely non-functional! (This was true both of the genes in the test tube, that in those speaking and that of those hearing the words).

They then did the experiment again, speaking all manner of positive words. This time all the DNA had returned to normal, “plumping up” and becoming functional once again! If you have struggled with believing that what you say and what you listen to has any effect on your life, here is your proof! The words that are spoken around us have tremendous power. The good news is, all of us have the ability to influence what we think, read and hear each day. Choose to make those inputs positive (the Bible, anyone!) and watch your life change like you could never believe!

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