Avoiding Human Monkeyshines

In a major university the Psych Department ran an interesting experiment on a group of monkeys. They had several monkeys in a room with a rope hanging from the ceiling. At the top of the rope was a nice tasty bunch of bananas. One monkey started up the rope to get a snack, but about halfway up he was sprayed with cold water. This was repeated several times. They each made several attempts until finally the monkeys no longer tried to climb the rope.

Then the people conducting the experiment took out one monkey and replaced him with a monkey that had never had the experience of the cold-water spray. When the newcomer attempted to go up the rope, all the other monkeys grabbed him and screamed at him, keeping him from climbing the rope. One by one they replaced the monkeys until there were no monkeys who had ever experienced the cold spray of water, but none of them ever attempted to climb the rope to get the tasty food. They ignored the opportunity for satisfaction, but none of them knew why.

I’ve discovered that in life that there are many people that are like that group of monkeys. They see an amazing opportunity to grow and discover what it really means to follow Christ or to go to the next level in their Christian experience. But as they start the climb, they have a group of well-intentioned people warning them and filling them with doubts and obstacles. Because they listen to the crowd, they never experience the life God has intended for them.

Sometimes it is a teenager being pressured by her peers to not pray before eating lunch at school. Or, it can be a young adult being belittled in a college classroom for his belief in the Bible. Sometimes it is an adult in the workplace being told to keep her beliefs to herself even when an associate is asking what makes her different. Maybe it is a neighbor that makes fun of a man’s Christian bumper sticker or welcome mat. Perhaps, for some, it is a close family member who thinks attending church is for losers or fanatics. We all have those voices screaming at us to be silent, to be like everyone else, and to be ashamed or embarrassed of the gospel and even the Lord Himself.

As a result of the “monkeys in the room” we don’t reach out for the life we can have. We settle for second best. We surrender to “the way things are.” As we develop that victim way of thinking, we too can stop reaching for the prize without even knowing why we shouldn’t try.

To overcome, we must resist the “stinking thinking” of the world. We must realize that God created us for more than mediocrity. We each have unique value and purpose put into our hearts by our Creator. We must learn to reach for that, even if we get a cold shower once in a while. Lukewarm complacency will lead us to a life void of purpose and meaning.