Extinction Behavior
by Molly Baskette
September
16, 2018
"Like
a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." - Proverbs 26:11
Anyone
who has ever trained a puppy or raised a child knows the power of consistency
in engraining new behaviors or habits in them. And you also know how extremely
discouraging it is when, after initially demonstrating genius in mastering the
art of, say, pooping in the potty, your toddler suddenly regresses to pooping
beside the potty, or in the new big boy unders, or holding it for three days
straight. Just as things seem to be getting better, they suddenly get a whole
lot worse.
This
is known as an extinction burst: an increase in negative behavior just before
it disappears.
American
society has been experiencing an uptick in openly racist, misogynistic,
xenophobic, homophobic, and transphobic behaviors in public and out loud.
Perhaps the animus was already there and is just now being revealed, emboldened
by the words and deeds of public leaders. Perhaps we are in for a long run of
hatefulness, one that will even be enshrined in law.
Or
perhaps (let's imagine!) this sudden uptick is extinction behavior, a last
flirtation with a beloved bad habit, a fool returning to his folly, a dog
returning to his vomit, as Proverbs so pungently puts it. Perhaps, the fact
that things are getting worse means that we are finally coming into a dawning
understanding of God's best hopes for Her growing-up children.
Our
Mama God clearly set the terms for spiritual maturity in the words of Jesus:
"Love your neighbor. Welcome the stranger. Give all your money to the
poor." God is supporting us in growing up, and into the next age and
stage: an age of dignity, respect, rights, equality and justice for every child
of God.
Prayer
God, growth and change is
scary. It creates tension in the Body: resistance between the part of us that
wants to stay in diapers and the part that wants to wear big kid pants. Loving
Parent, be firm, loving and consistent with us as we deal with the anxieties of
this age.