David Earp, a deputy with the Durham County Sheriff in North Carolina

By Instinct

“Instinct” is defined as “an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli.” Sometimes, however, we use the word to refer to skills that have been learned and internalized to the point that, when we are under pressure, these skills take over and we perform them without much forethought.

Recently, David Earp, a deputy with the Durham County Sheriff in North Carolina, heard some crying coming from an apartment complex. He rushed to the scene and saw in the pond close to the apartment complex a 5-year-old girl floating and crying in the water but her 3-year-old sister was fully submerged. “After I was informed that there were kids involved, instinct took over just to go out there and rescue them,” Earp said.

The water was about 5’ deep. The sheriff’s deputy concentrated on saving the girls’ lives, particularly the one who had been submerged, doing CPR until the paramedics arrived. Earp has no children of his own.

The deputy jumped into action saying his “instinct took over.” This is not the instinct of a father since he was not a father. It was the natural instinct of a human being to come to the rescue of a fellow human being. No doubt, however, that his police officer training also was a part of that “instinct.”

You have heard many people use the same terminology. Servicemen who jump into action to save the life of a comrade will say things like, “I didn’t think. I just did it.” Instinct and training took over. That’s why the military and police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders have to continue their periodic training – to keep those “instinctual skills” honed so that they will take over when the situation demands.
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Christians need to spend as much time with their Lord as possible so that the “Christ-instinct” will take over. If we spend time in His word, feeding on it, studying it, praying about it, talking about it to others, worshiping with fellow saints, then when the situation demands, Christ will “take over” in our lives.

By that, I mean when religious discussions come up, we can share our knowledge of the Bible with ease and comfort. Instinct will take over. When a heated situation occurs at the office, with our family or neighbor, Christ will come through in our speech and behavior. Instinct takes over.

If people do not see Christ in our speech, topics of conversation, tone of voice, control of temper, patience, and so forth, it’s likely that we are not spending enough time with Him. “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Instinct took over for Peter and John.

Are you living the Christian life by instinct?

Paul Holland

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