"Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup." - 1 Corinthians 11:27-28
Most of us regularly lose things: keys, wallets, TV remotes, glasses, and phones. Some of us are more prone to misplacing things than others. It’s not surprising that men are twice as likely to lose their phones than women. One study from a British insurance company concluded that the average person misplaces nine things a day and spends an average of fifteen minutes looking for lost items.
Why does this happen? What is the psychology and science behind it? It comes down to a breakdown of attention and memory. When we misplace our belongings, "we fail to activate the part of our brain responsible for encoding what we're doing." The hippocampus part of our brain is responsible for taking a snapshot and preserving the memory in a set of neurons that can be activated later. We lose things when we do not have a clear reference point of when or where we put down objects like our keys or glasses.
One way we can improve our memory is by practicing mindfulness. We do this by stepping back and calming our thoughts, focusing on being present in the moment.
The Lord's Supper is a time when we need to be mindful of our own sins and Christ’s sacrifice. Today, in prayer, thank Christ for the Lord's Supper and remember Jesus each time you eat the bread and drink the cup.
"The real presence of Christ's most blessed body and blood is not to be sought for in the sacrament, but in the worthy receiver of the sacrament." - Richard Hooker.
God's Word: "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'" - Luke 22:19