Tuesday, 16th November, 2021
Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:12
Memory Verse: Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life. Ecclesiastes 7:12 (NLT)
System thinking is a holistic approach that focuses on the way that a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work overtime. Shall we continue to draw from the wisdom of John Obidi: “Back when the British ruled India, they faced a problem with a rising population of venomous cobras in Delhi. To solve this problem, the British colonialists launched a bounty program, offering a cash prize for every cobra that was killed.
All the residents had to do, was to kill a cobra and present its body to the British government and claim the reward. However, the business-minded Indians devised a plan to ‘optimise’ their rewards – they would breed cobras privately, kill them, present the dead cobras to the British and collect the cash reward. The British were initially delighted to see that cobras were being killed in large numbers. On the surface, the bounty program appeared to be a raving success – 1ST ORDER THINKING.
The British soon found out about the breeding operations and terminated the bounty program – 2ND ORDER EFFECTS. This now meant that the Indian snake breeders were left with many snakes that could not be sold, and so they set them all free. There were now more cobras all over Delhi after the bounty program than when it was first started – 3RD ORDER EFFECTS. What does this mean to you? As with the stories of the Twitter ban and the British bounty program, we must seek to solve problems by seeing the whole landscape rather than what is readily apparent.
We must consider not only the First Order Effects of our decisions, but also their Second and even Third Order Effects. This overarching strategy is called SYSTEMS THINKING, and Second Order thinking is just one component of it.” Another perspective: A husband and wife had a misunderstanding. The husband shut the door after his wife had gone to work with the only key available. In annoyance, he refused to keep the key with their neighbour.
The wife got home in the evening and was unable to enter into the house and consequently, couldn’t prepare dinner. The whole family suffered for the unintended consequences of the husband’s actions. Had the husband thought of second order effect (wife and children stranded outside the house) and the third order effect (late dinner), perhaps he would have kept his anger in check.
Quote: By wisdom, kings rule.
Prophetic Decree: By the force of wisdom, you will not die in regret, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Alpha and Omega: The God that knows the end from the beginning, I thank You.
2. Holy Spirit, sharpen my spiritual eyes that I may see the end from the beginning, in Jesus name.
3. My Father, open my eyes of understanding, in Jesus name.
4. Spirit of wisdom, possess my soul, in Jesus name.
5. Spirit of the living God, sharpen my spiritual sight, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 1-3
