Shamu: A Labor of Love

In the book, "Whale Done," by Ken Blanchard, the author talks about the power of positive relationships. As an apt example of the subject matter, he describes how the Sea World trainers used positive reinforcement to train Shamu to jump out of the water. Shamu is, after all, a killer whale. Did you think they were going to use negative reinforcement? I have always really enjoyed this example, but it all came together for me recently when we visited Sea World and I had the opportunity to see the newest Shamu performance called "Believe." What they make abundantly clear throughout the show is that the method of training is positive reinforcement--otherwise known as love. There is no need to guess how close the whales are with their trainers. A sense of love permeated the atmosphere. The affection that their trainers show for the obedience of these whales brings one to tears; it is astonishingly sincere. At every possible opportunity, the trainers were hugging and kissing these killer whales. And if a whale can smile, I assure you they were.

So I thought about what this interplay between the trainers and the whales could reveal about our relationship with God. We know that God is love and that everything He does is motivated by love. So what if He, like the trainers, uses positive reinforcement with us? The way that might work is, when we do what is desired by God, even a little bit, we get positive reinforcement. If we keep trying the things we want to do, hoping that God will reward us, He won't; He's looking for something different.

Interestingly, Blanchard writes that when the wales do the "wrong" thing, the trainers do not punish them; instead they redirect the whales' focus in order to catch them doing the right thing so they can reward them. They long to set them up for rewards, and in doing so, they gain more of the whales' trust. Have you ever considered that God wants to catch us doing the right thing so He can reward us? He longs to reward us. That's simply who He is--a rewarder. And He aches to secure our trust. The next time you are tempted to feel "upset" at God because you haven't received something you've prayed for, consider that He may be waiting to reward you for different behavior; or perhaps He simply has something far better in mind.

Jeremiah 31:16
Thus says the Lord: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded," says the Lord, "And they shall come back from the land of the enemy."

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Revelation 22:12-13
"And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

Psalm 63:3 (NLT)
Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you!

Abba Father, we know that You are good and that Your thoughts toward us are good and not evil. Help us to embrace Your way as we diligently seek You, trusting that Your love and Your rewards are better than life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Barb