The Gestalt Effect
A practical Christian study of “The Gestalt Effect,” with clear application for faith, relationships, and everyday life.
Season 4, Episode 58 · The Gestalt Effect
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The story behind the idea
We talked to the guys as well as the girls, but as the series went on, we really started to focus in on trying to get women to understand the power of their bodies. I want mothers and daughters to understand the way that God made them and also the way that God made men. I encouraged fathers and husbands and brothers and boyfriends to own up to some of those truths about the way that a man's brain works and be an asset in helping the females in your life to understand why modesty is so incredibly important. It was maybe ten years ago that someone gave Summer and me a great book.
What stands out
If people knew me better, they would know that it doesn't mean this or it does mean that. If people would stop and look at the pieces here, it's not exactly what they think that it is. Maybe I'll use a church example so it's not all about the ladies. Here's a guy serving on the Lord's table with a graphic t-shirt on, and he's like, If you knew me better, you'd know that's not a big deal.
Why it matters
You will be fighting the natural inclinations of the brain. To kind of wrap up the modesty part of this, I believe this is why God wants women and men to dress properly, to make a claim to godliness. When someone looks at me in the way that I dress or portray myself, what is the simple full picture that they immediately form? Based on what is shown to them, what lines will they finish, curves will they follow, or blanks will they fill in?
A faithful way forward
Or if you knew me better, you'd know that I didn't mean it. Or maybe like with our clothing, we should take a little more care in our speech. What exactly are you verbally putting out there in your home, in your marriage, among your neighbors, with your brethren?
Put it into practice
My wife did a fair bit of crying in those first few years because what looked like tiny little pokes for me had a much fuller and more painful impact on her. I tell people, I was like twenty five years old, I dug a big hole in the backyard, I buried all my sarcasm in it, and I left an unmarked grave. My point to you is this whether it's something that is a little sketchy or a little hurtful or a little suggestive, something that just barely starts a fight or reveals just the tiniest amount of being uncompassionate, the hearer will take that for what it is.
Take the idea with you.
- 01What idea from this study most needs my attention right now?
- 02Where does this challenge the way I am currently thinking or living?
- 03What is one faithful step I can take this week?
Prefer listening?
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