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God has blessed us with our senses, and in science class, we were taught about our five main senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. According to R. S. Feldman's book called Understanding Psychology, there are parameters or absolute thresholds listed for these senses:
Vision -- A candle flame at a distance of about 2 miles, on a dark, clear night.
Hearing -- A watch ticking 20 feet away in a quiet place.
Smell -- A drop of perfume in a 3-room apartment.
Taste -- A teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water.
Touch -- A wing of a bee on your cheek, dropped 1 cm. (98).
While these are the main senses we tend to list, we have several other "senses" that God has given to us.
Let us start with the sense of balance -- you know, when the doctor has you stand on one foot for thirty seconds. That is the sense that allows you to ride a bicycle (or a surfboard while on vacation). Then there is a sense of time, which allows some folks to never have to set an alarm clock or an egg timer. We are given a sense of humor, a sense that seems to vary in degree from person to person. Also one that varies is common sense; some seem to have it, and some -- not so much.
There is a sense we call intuition that some might refer to as a sixth sense. It can be listed as a feeling about a happening -- with a slight variation called déjà vu. Some folks have a keen sense of direction, no compass needed.
We have an inner sense related to touch that tells us when we are hungry, thirsty, or full. That same sense can inform us when we do not feel well or when we have butterflies in our tummy; think about how you felt when you had to give that oral report in junior high. These might be called parts of a sense of emotion
Scholars tell us that there are other senses with specialized names: nociception -- the sense of feeling pain (another variation on touch) or thermoception -- the sense of being hot or cold. Proprioception is the sense of body position; when you close your eyes and your hand is moved over your head, you know where it is. That sense is sometimes a puzzle, like when you are almost asleep and cannot feel your foot. Related to that is kinesthesia, which is the sense of movement, and that is the one the movies try to show with sensory deprivation, like floating in water
Another specialized sense is synesthesia, where one sense can evoke another. An example is the sight of your grandmother's house generates the smell of her kitchen and the spaghetti sauce she made.
These are all God-given senses and tendencies that we humans have. There is a vital one that God has implanted into our systems; the sense of morality, sometimes called right or wrong.
God has instilled in us a tendency to behave properly. It certainly is shaped by our family upbringings and our cultural rules and mores, but the bottom line is that we are to please God with our thoughts, speech, and actions.
The Scriptures are full of advice that really makes good sense. Jesus spelled it out simply: "Love Your Neighbor" (Mark 12:31 NIV). That makes perfect sense to me.
Pastor Richard DeMarte, CHP Charge, United Methodist Church