There is a tiny gland sitting deep in the centre of your head just underneath the brain, weighing no more than 1g in weight and no more than 1cm in size, (about the size of a kidney bean), that has functions affecting nearly every part of the body. It’s absence of failure to function correctly may not be fatal but requires a large amount of outside support/medication.
This tiny, pituitary, gland is responsible for the smooth running of the thyroid gland, sugar metabolism, sex hormone functioning both in men and women, contractions and breast-feeding post childbirth (in women!), how tall or short we are, kidney function, even what colour your skin is.
It produces a variety of hormones, under stimulation from the hypothalamus, another tiny area a little further back in the brain. This area, in turn, is stimulated by levels of the various hormones within the blood stream. This is called a feedback loop. Most are on a negative feedback loop but some are on a positive feedback loop.
A negative feedback loop means that if hormone A in the bloodstream is high then it sends a message to the hypothalamus which then decreases the level of hormone it produces, which in turn results in a lower level of hormone from the pituitary gland with the end effect of reducing the level of hormone A back to a normal level.
The hormone that stimulates contractions of the uterus in childbirth, (oxytocin), is on a positive feedback loop – uterine contractions stimulate more oxytocin which increases the uterine contractions. (Any woman in labour knows about this first hand!)
As Christians what sort of feedback do we offer? When we receive positive encouragement, it stimulates us to persevere, to continue what we are doing, to do more, to do better. When we receive negative feedback, we might try harder, we might try to do better, or we might give up all together.
Prayer: Merciful Father, forgive us when we see the negative and not the positive in others, or in ourselves. Help us to be encouragers, to give positive feedback, to work for your kingdom and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen