Are looks and age important?

"Are looks and age important?". A friend posted this question in her facebook and attracted quite a number of responses from her friends (including yours truly).

The discussion that ensued got me thinking about the NATURAL BRAIN and the RATIONAL MIND again (a theme which I touched upon briefly in my previous blog post). Selected exchanges are set out below:

RL: Are looks and age important?

GN: Seriously no, that's why all guys are looking for old and ugly ladies.

RL: @ Gabor: Why are guys looking for "old and ugly"?

Lip Kee: Hmm...I suppose you didn't quite get what Gabor was trying to say...Imagine if he were to pose this question, "Are health and financial stability important?" and a lady friend of his answered, "Seriously no, that's why all gals are looking for sickly and dirt poor men". You get the drift now?

GN: LoL, thanks for clarifying! :)

Lip Kee: The human brain is wired for survival and procreation, hence the general preference for youth and beauty, as well as strength and wealth. The more aware we are to such natural inclinations in the natural brain, the more able we will be to override or adjust biases with the rational mind. It takes an educated and enlightened mind to appreciate and value beyond what the natural and instinctive brain sees and prefers.

GN: But...Why would we want to override the biases? Actually those biases are highly rational...e.g. I would never settle with a dumb but pretty girl (nor with a sharp and ugly one either)

Lip Kee: @Gabor. Your not wanting to settle with a "dumb but pretty girl" is an example of how you are using your RATIONAL MIND to override/adjust the preference of your NATURAL BRAIN. From a purely biological perspective, the prettiness or physical beauty of a girl is perceived by your NATURAL BRAIN as an indicator of health, vitality and child-bearing ability in the girl, and that causes you to like her (INSTINCTIVELY). But since you also possess an educated RATIONAL MIND, you do not just "settle" (to use your own word) for the girl just because she is pretty. You (RATIONALLY) would like her to be intelligent also. The more we utilize our RATIONAL MIND rather than soley rely on our NATURAL BRAIN in our decision-making and action taking process, the more we are considered to be cultured and civilized.

But we digressed. The original question was: "Are looks and age important?". I suppose my answer is: Idealistically speaking, looks and age should not matter. Generally speaking though, they do. How important they are to an individual would depend on the individual's personal philosophy, world view and value system.

Why it does not make evolutionary sense to demonize homosexuality

Note: This blog entry was originally titled "Evolution does not favor homosexuality". I decided to change the title after I realized how the original one had misled some readers and distracted them from my key message in the post.

From an evolutionary perspective, a tribe/species that persistently favors homosexuality inevitably would increasingly experience barrenness among the tribe/species members, which would ultimately lead to the demise of the tribe/species. It is for this reason that homosexuals (whether those in the animal kingdom or in human communities) have always been, and will always remain a minority.

Having said the above, I strongly believe that people with homosexual inclination should be treated with respect and understanding, and should not be discriminated against, denigrated or demonized.

Nevertheless, realistically speaking, I believe we must acknowledge that there will always be a bias among most of us (many a times unconsciously or sub-consciously) for heterosexuality and against homosexuality, given our evolutionary (natural) instinct for procreation and survival.

The more we are willing to admit this bias wired in our natural brain, the better able we will be to address it and override it, with our rational mind.

How to let go and let God

In order to LET GO, we are to HOLD FAST.

The key to letting go and letting God, to letting not our hearts be troubled, to entering God's rest, is to SEE and to HOLD FAST to the Person of our Lord Jesus, and all that He has done for us.

- Hebrews 4:14
SEEING then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us HOLD FAST our confession

- Hebrews 10:19-23
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way...Let us HOLD FAST the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

- Joshua 23:1-3,8,10
Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given REST to Israel... You have SEEN all that the Lord your God has done..., for the Lord your God is He who had fought for you...you shall HOLD FAST to the LORD your God...for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.

We will want to hold fast to Jesus, and we will succeed in doing so, when we SEE:
- Him, our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14);
- His faithfulness (Hebrews 10:23);
- what He has already given to us (Joshua 23:1);
- what he has already done for us (Joshua 23:3,8,10);
- that He is the One who is holding fast to us (Hebrews 13:5)

When we SEE Jesus, we cannot help but HOLD FAST to Him. And when we HOLD FAST to Jesus, we cannot help but LET GO of the things that trouble our hearts, and we cannot help but enter into REST.

To see God's BEST (i.e. to behold Jesus) is to enter God's REST.

REST - meditaton on Hebrews 4:11-16

REST is not inactivity. REST is not doing nothing. To REST is to:
- Renew my mind;
- Expect good;
- Step out boldly; and
- Take stock of the blessings in my life


I enter into God's REST (Heb 4:11) when I:

Renew my mind with the Word of Christ (Heb 4:12);

Expect good to happen to me and through me, seeing that Jesus my High Priest sympathizes with (rather than condemns) my weaknesses (Heb 4:15);

Step out boldly before the throne of grace and take on life's challenges as enbolden by the Holy Spirit (Heb 4:16); and

Take stock of all the blessings of mercy and grace from my Abba Father, even as He is helping me in the midst of my most urgent and deepest needs (Heb 4:16).