In our 1st installment we
looked at the challenges of weather and physiology in air flight. In this part
we are going to look at the importance of being OBJECTIVE in our decision
making process.
Pilots are thoroughly trained in
instrumentation and must learn to trust their instruments and not themselves! Most
crashes are a direct result of...numerous bad decisions made during a flight!
Prov
3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding.
When Charles Lindberg made his historical transatlantic flight in 1927 he chronicle the
challenges of flying with limited instrumentation....
‘A
pillar of clouds block out the stars ahead, spilling over on top like a huge
mushroom in the sky ...in the seconds that intervene while I approach, I make
the mental and physical preparation for blind flying. The body must be informed
sternly that the mind will take complete control. The senses must be drafted
and lined up in the strictest discipline, while logic replaces instinct as
commander...The muscle’s must obey the mind’s decision no matter how wrong it
seems to them. If the eyes imagine the flicker of a star below where they think
the horizon ought to be, if the ears report the engine’s tempo too slow for
level flight, if the nerves say the seat’s back pressure is increasing (as it
does in a climb), the hand and the feet must still be loyal to the order of the
mind. It is a terrific strain on the mind also when it turns from long-proven
bodily instincts to the cold, mechanical impartiality of needles moving over
dials.’ 1
In his diary he continues to describe
the sensations of vestibular and spatial disorientation...
‘If
the senses get excited and out of control, the plane will follow them, and that
can be fatal. If the senses break rank while everything is going right, it may
be impossible, with the plane falling dizzily and the needles running wild, to
bring them back into line, reinstruct them, and force them to gain control
while everything is going wrong. It would be like rallying a panicked army
while under fire of an advancing enemy. Like an army under fire, blind flying
requires absolute discipline. This must be fully understood before it starts.’
The early airmail planes in the US had
limited navigation equipment and weather information was often unavailable. Of
the first forty aviators hired...thirty-one were killed when flying! 2
That was a mortality rate of 77.5%. These were the best skilled pilots
available at that time. One of the biggest challenges was that they did not fly
with proper OBJECTIVE instruments...the thirty-one pilots who lost their lives
relied upon SUBJECTIVE decision making. (Without instruments) |
| Instrument panel of the Spirit of St. Louis |
- SUBJECTIVE - placing excessive emphasis on one's own moods, attitudes, opinions, feelings (sensory) etc.
- OBJECTIVE - not influenced by personal feelings (non-sensory), interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased:
Today, pilots are still faced with
similar challenges, but with all the proper instrumentation! Studies have shown
that pilots with less than fifty hours of instrument time account for 58% of
all weather accidents and 47% of all fatal
weather accidents. As pilots gain more experience, 51-100 hrs. of instrument
time, the risk decreases to less than 9% of all air accidents! 3
In recent times, larger aircraft utilize
a piece of equipment called the GPWS
(Ground Proximity Warning System...listen to this sample video with the warnings: https://youtu.be/rpcfTX7qf8Y
) ...when in the proximity of the surrounding terrain ....the system provides
instructions: “Terrain! Terrain! Pull Up!
Pull Up!”...along with a warning horn! This equipment has dramatically
reduced the incidence of accidents when flying in unfamiliar territory or in
close proximity to the ground!
God has given to us instruments or gauges
to warn us of impending danger in our walk with God...the question is, ‘Do we listen to him?’ Do we follow the
instruments that God has given us to make OBJECTIVE decisions?
Before God called me into the pastorate,
I worked in a machine shop for 14 years in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In this
shop, we made fittings for aerospace (NASA), atomic energy, oil industry, pulp
and paper, etc. ...under the brand name of ‘Swagelok’
I was the Quality Assurance supervisor for manufacturing in Canada. One of my main
responsibilities was the oversight of product inspection. Our department
performed sample inspections on 2-3 million parts per year. The majority of these
inspections were measurable (OBJECTIVE), but some of them were very SUBJECTIVE!
Using measuring instruments, parts were either within or outside of specification.
When it came to some of the attribute inspection, the decision making process
was very SUBJECTIVE, which was subject to the personal feelings &
preferences of the individual doing the inspections!
In the 38 years that I have been saved,
I have noticed a trend amongst believers; many have turned from OBJECTIVITY to
SUBJECTIVITY in their spiritual decision making!
Many will express their thoughts,
feelings, and opinions about matters rather than...”Thus saith the LORD...”. We are living in days similar to the
period of the Judges, where “every man
did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) Many have attempted to make issues of personal
separation, holiness, etc. a SUBJECTIVE one, even though the Bible is still
clear and transcends time and culture and is very OBJECTIVE! The Bible tells us
that every issue we face is a matter of the heart!
Prov
4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
Liberal scholarship has cast doubt upon
the accuracy and preservation of the scriptures. The world constantly attacks
the scriptures through the secular schools and universities, Hollywood, and the
media! In spite of all of this...there is still an absolute standard of right
and wrong, of good and evil...it is the Bible! Right is
still right and wrong is still wrong! We have the standard to compare
everything in life to!
We are living in a day much like the
days of Jeremiah the prophet, where there is little or no blush over the sin
and wickedness, and there is little or no shame in sin anymore!
Jer
6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed
abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:
therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them
they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
As pilots have instruments to guide them
when flying blind and/or in the worst of weather conditions, God has also provided
believers with an instrument panel of gauges to help through the storms of life.
What instruments do we need to climb
above the storms as an eagle?
What instruments do we need to have a
successful flight and to keep from crashing?
In our next installment, we will look at
the ‘Instrument Panel of the Believer’
To be continued...Part 3
1. Charles Lindbergh,
The Spirit of St. Louis (New
York:Scribner & Sons, 1953); as cited in Lamar Underwood, The Greatest Flying Stories Ever Told (Guilford,
Conn.: Lyons Press, 2002), 5.
2. Guided Flight Discovery, 1 – 8
3. Ibid., 1 - 12
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