THE SUFFERING PIONEER – 4: The Struggle within

IMMANUEL EBBIE FRANCIS

Yes! There are battles and wars that change the course of history and in some way alter the
reality of its present sufferers and the future they beget. But, the world’s greatest battles,
that altered the joint reality of every incumbent generation thereafter, were neither fought
in the familiar tropes of the Sommes or Stalingrads, nor are they to be fixed in the
Waterloos and Leipzigs. They are not to be found in America’s Ego-Wars for the oil-rigs of
the Gulf and the guerrilla terrains of the Viet Cong, but rather within the complexity called
‘the Human’. No war or skirmish can truly compare to the comprehensiveness and
universality of the battle that rages within every living Soul. Socrates once said ‘know
thyself’ and on a similar vein also commented ‘Let him who would move the world (also)
first move himself’. These might make for exceptional wall-hangers above a manager’s chair
to illicit a ‘Nudge’ within the sub-ordinate, but do they really dig deep to root out the
fundamental issue?

As a Pioneer, a Christian must be aware and informed of this war within; not only within
himself/herself, but that which makes the ‘total of the sum of the parts’ of those around
him/her. Didn’t the socially awkward Socrates also empathetically say, ‘Be kind, for
everyone you meet are fighting a hard battle’? This subject matter of internal conflict is
something that many a Christian Pioneer seems to glaze over, without having the guts to
trench in. If Jesus’ entire model of Leadership and Management hinged on ‘Do unto others,
what you want them to do to you’, isn’t there an inherent clause to understand oneself and
the inner workings of others to shower true empathy? If this article serves, maybe, as a
starting point or the next step-forward w.r.to inner struggle, it would have achieved its
intended purpose. While in the previous articles we looked mostly into external factors, in
this fourth station of struggle in Jacob’s life, we shall take a deep dive into the realm of the
mental.

THE STRUGGLE WITHIN:

For the wise of heart and the sound of mind, the greatest battle ever fought is not ‘out
there’ but ‘in here’. Our most frequent battles are not against an external ‘flesh and blood’
adversary but a resident evil that determines our course of action at every turn. Iron Man-3
starts off with Robert Downey Jr mouthing, ‘we create our (own) demons’. Oscar Wilde
commented about our enemy, ‘We are each our own devil and we make this world our
(personal) hell (or heaven)’.

Yes! The outcome of these battles and war-within make for tangible states of reality, as John
Milton puts it, ‘The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of
heaven.’ The utilitarian Jeremy Bentham notes, ‘Nature has placed mankind under the
governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out
what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the
standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to
their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think…’

THE STRUGGLE OF POLAR EXTREMES:

The premise of an inherent struggle within the human soul is universal. This observation is
not restricted to the Biblical worldview alone, as every human being feels it in such close
quarters. The sting of original Sin is so profound in this particular conflict. From Western
Philosophers to Eastern Mystics, everyone has to deal with this fact, that within a rational
person are two opposing forces that desire things of polar extremes. Ovid sighs, ‘I see the
better things and I agree with them, but I follow the worse’.

The Jewish Rabbinic traditions posited this condition in terms of ‘yetser hatobh’ and ‘yetser
hara’; good inclination and evil inclination residing together within the soul of man. Though
living at an earlier date, Apostle Paul being a ‘Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee’, must
have been privy to at least a pretty nascent and oral form of this thought.

Apostle Paul reflects in some way, this thought, when he laments in Romans 7:22-23. Paul
sees within himself an unshakable paradox, ‘For what I am doing, I do not understand. For
what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do’.

WHY INTERNAL CONFLICT?

Why is an understanding of Internal Conflict and the need to address it, so important in the
purview of Management? Why does it require so much screen space so as to push aside the
‘How-to’ and ‘What-to’ of Management excellence? Firstly, all Management processes and
structures are given life through human occupation. That is, all management processes are
of, for, and by the Human. Secondly, both in Pioneering and Management, decision-making
eats up the majority of pie-chart in terms of role and function. Therefore, understanding
human frailties and coming up with contingent plans to counter root-problems is not a
leisure project or a cosmetic expenditure but an absolute necessity.

Managers in their Decisional role (Mintzberg), as an Entrepreneur, Disturbance-handler,

Resource allocator and Negotiator need to be in a state of composure before they take
decisions that will affect the lives of those within the Enterprise. So internal conflict
becomes a subject that cannot be ignored for long.

DECISION-MAKING MACHINE:

Humans are decision-making machines endowed with the power to create alternate
realities on the basis of every choice taken and rejected. They are divinely instituted by the
Sovereign to have an independent quality of free-will and choice. They have the power to
create as many sub-realities and disciplines within the consummate and determinate reality
of God. Though there are many internet sources that give a staggering data that an average
human being makes around 35,000 conscious decisions in a day, they however are
unscientific without any proper reference. But humans do make a considerable amount of
conscious decisions in a day within a sample space of a conservative 27 and the outright
ludicrous number of 35000, right from deciding whether to wake up early in the morning or
to snuggle in bed a little while longer.

A decision means a specific choice; a choice to traverse a certain path while saying ‘No’ to
any other route. There are even popular Multi-verse theories that suggest that with every
decision taken (conscious or involuntary) a new universe is branched, bearing that particular
cause and effect. For the Christian Pioneer, the factors that influence a decision and the
cause and effect of that decision need to be observed keenly before a judgement is raised
from a third-eye perspective. The factors that led to a particular decision makes one to
empathise with the decision maker. On the other hand, analysing the cause and effect of
the decision taken and that of every other option that was initially presented, makes a
Pioneer to make better decisions as life progresses.

Though Pioneers know the importance of decision-making and the importance of fairness
and rationality, nobody lives in an ideal state, insulated from deterrents that hamper one’s
decision-making skills. There are internal factors, over and above the factors that the
external environment thrusts. These factors make every one of us partial and irrational
decision-makers from time to time.

COGNITIVE BIASES:

In disciplines of Social Psychology, Management Psychology and Behavioural Economics one

comes up against the term ‘Heuristic’, where it is emphasised that the mind is prone to take
shortcuts while taking decisions. Though there are many types of it, some rely on the
situational emotions (Affect heuristic), anchoring information (Anchoring heuristic),
available information (Availability heuristic), etc. They are most popularly grouped under the
term ‘Cognitive Biases’. Cognitive Biases are like prejudices that we would have gained
through past experience and available information handed over to us through our
environment and multi-generational inculcation. There are many types of Cognitive biases.
Some populists being Emotional Bias, Anchoring Bias, Survivor Bias, Selective perception
Bias, Dunning-Kruger Effect Bias, etc. They range from 12 to 24 to even 50 and more. Now,
how they influence our decisions on a day to day basis is a specialised study in itself that
sheds light on our behavioural choice patterns. According to studies these Biases are that
which make us take irrational decisions, quite opposite to the abundance of data and
information that suggest otherwise. Confirmation Bias, is a particular form of this Cognitive
Bias.

DORSOLATERAL vs ORBITOFRONTAL:

Barbara Sahakian and Jamie Nicole LaBuzetta in their book, ‘Bad Moves: How Decision
Making Goes Wrong, and the Ethics of Smart Drugs’ explore the decision making capacity of
humans and the processes that entail it. The entire book is based on the central idea of ‘Hot’
and ‘Cold’ decisions. ‘Hot decisions’ are those that involve the emotional aspect of man,
while ‘Cold decisions’ involve rational thinking (logical reasoning). They suggest that
decisions that entails any reward and punishment becomes ‘Hot’, while that which doesn’t
becomes ‘Cold’. Example, in the Red Porridge situation, Esau’s decision to forego his birth-
right was a ‘life or death’ decision, thus making it ‘Hot’, while Jacob’s decision to make an
offer can be termed ‘Cold’ as he had nothing to lose to begin with.
Though many consider the internal conflict within man as heart vs mind, Sahakian and
LaBuzetta place the functioning of Hot decisions to the Orbitofrontal Cortex, while
attributing the Cold decisions to the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex of our brain (by gauging
the blood flow in the brain during such decisions). So, any conflict is between two parts of
the brain and not between the heart and mind. This is important as the battlefield is in the
mental realm.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE:

Internal conflict is also termed ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ whenever equally strong and
opposing forces are called upon and are involved in decision-making. Emotional stance vs
Logical thinking is one type. Another most important clash is between beliefs and
behaviour. Every individual has a set of beliefs by which he interprets the world, diagnoses
situations, and evaluates fellow-beings. This is the holy ground (reality) on which he/she
stands and should never be challenged or else chaos breaks out. But when one’s own
behaviour or the practicality of a situation warrants a decision against those set of beliefs,
tumult ensues. Dissonance makes even the soundest of minds into breeders of negative
emotions. While a lot of stress is given to E.Q by Human Resource and Team-Building
units, what most Leaders do not take into account is the measure of damage these
internal conflict zones in the mental space can make of an individual’. It is especially true
of a Christian whose belief and value systems are deeply entrenched within. Negative
emotions like guilt, fear, confusion, anxiety, fits of rage, self-debasement, delusion,
insecurity, regret etc., lead to Bipolar condition, split personality, Insomnia, prolonged bouts
of crippling depression, apathy, lack of remorse, workaholism, etc.

This is an important factor that Christian Institutions and Managers need to take into
account. Many scandals could have been avoided if this issue had been recognised and dealt
with professionally. Though we can wash away the recurrent issue under the Carpet,
categorising everything to ‘their failure’ to avoid Sin and ‘their entertainment’ of the
elemental spirits of the commerciality, we need to take time to ‘see the beam in our own
eyes’. This is a ‘universally-inherent’ problem. The study of Cognitive Dissonance is an
important venue that a Pioneer, a Manager and the Institution must probe and have
solutions to, when taking course-changing decisions.
STRUGGLE 104: JACOB AND HIS WIVES: THE STRUGGLE WITHIN

The fourth station of suffering in the life of Jacob can be termed as that which involved Bias
and Dissonance. In the previous article we found how Jacob’s love for Rachel made him
scorn Leah. While Rachel was his trophy of love, Leah was just a thrust of deception. Leah
seemed to be a mid-race hurdle to attain his trophy. This conflict between the house of Leah
and Rachel, and the partiality of Jacob towards the latter is made explicit in the Biblical
narrative. One on side is Rachel, Jacob’s Love at first sight, a shrewd shepherdess of physical
beauty and professional compatibility, on the other hand is Leah, an unnecessary addition, a
form of weakness and professional incompatibility.

With marriage being the most sacred and pioneer institutions of God for man and woman,
and the fact that ‘they become one flesh’, Jacob’s marriage to two contrasting images can be
understood as ‘two opposing forces’ working ‘within’ an individual ‘till death do us apart’.
One side we have ‘the naturally desirable’ and on the other ‘the not so easily understood’.
The analogy of Jacob, Leah and Rachel is in a way is striking as the in-house turmoil between
these two poles, makes for Jacob’s decision-making MO (Cause). This in turn reflects and
reverberates through his decisions regarding the sons of two camps (Effect). Every decision,
can be traced back to a battle within and highly depends on who won that bout. Though this
Two-Wrestlers analogy might be as antique as the Sunday-Schools that educated us, I have
never found anyone sympathise with the individual who had to bear the battle-scars of
every Duel. These unnoticed scars do fester over a period of time to eventually become
incurable. Cathartic interventions too cannot save an individual if done late into such
infections.

ANALOGY OF RACHEL & LEAH: PAUL’S FLESH & SPIRIT:

Paul’s idea of the conflict between Flesh and Spirit in Romans and Galatians, is like every
individual’s very own Rachel and Leah situation. The Flesh gravitating us to what is more
desirable and easier to do, while the Spirit fighting it hard to accomplish God’s will through
self-emptying. It is true that any analogy is to illustrate and not to derive theological
implications out of, but the analogy of Rachel and Leah is to understand the natural pull of
the flesh towards superficiality and our natural abeyance of things regarding the Spirit. This
analogy provides us with a situational and near-to-home life-lesson. Yes, this is an
intolerable, incompatible, inconceivable notion to the unreasoned mind but it is the
indisputable, inevitable and indefensible fact that Trained Hands recognise.

SUGGESTIONS:

Summing up, be it the conflicts (dissonance) arising out of Beliefs vs Behaviour, Emotional
Vs Rational, Biases Vs Truth, Flesh vs Spirit there is a need to recognise, study and make
appropriate safety nets to both alleviate the pain and arrest corruption. To the 21st
Century’s very own brand of Suffering Christian Pioneers and institutions here are a few
suggestions and Applications.

1) Personal Mental Care: As Socrates inferred, ‘move yourself’. You are responsible for
yourself first. Expecting intervening Nathans all the time for Davids to have cathartic
moments while being aware of solution-al routes. Rise above the taboo and stigma-
phobia to have regular mental health check-ups.
2) Create Awareness and Educate: In a room charged with super-spirituality and
judgmental attitudes it is a challenge to create awareness and open necessary
avenues for Mental Wellness. Not every moment can be reduced to the simplest
solution. Creating awareness of the problem, supported with a clear understanding
of current advancements and studies in Mental Health will surely help in dissipating
the fear of Stigma. Employer-Sponsored Programmes for regular Assessments,
Training, and providing Coverage for mental health (along with Physical) will go a
long way in addressing this issue.
3) Enlist Professional Help: Though it may seem an unnecessary expenditure for
institutions. It is the need of the hour given the notoriety of this Age. Make
provisions for employees to access Professionals who have academic background
and professional experience (Third-Party Healthcare Professionals preferably). Do
not succumb to temptations to hold unprofessional in-house counselling or
Interventions just to share one’s own personal interpretations and solutions. You
might be doing greater damage than you think.
4) Transparency and Confidentiality. True love trusts. Trust promotes Transparency.
But Trust demands confidentiality. While it is good to expect total transparency from
colleagues in regards to their personal struggles, it is more important to maintain
absolute confidentiality. Once Confidentiality-code is broken, Trust is broken. A
broken trust makes a great subsidy of Love. No Christian partnership can survive for
long without the bond of Love. Trust is not a one-way road, if you cannot trust your
personal battles do not expect the same from the other end.

(The concluding part will feature in the next issue)