English
The book “Instinct: The Power to Unleash your Inborn Drive” has been written by Thomas, Dexter Jakes., Sr., a renowned Bishop and Apostle of the Potter’s House in America. According to him, "we can achieve all that we want with all that we have". He writes that the power for greatness is in essence within our God-given abilities. In the chapter 21 “All that is within you” T. D. Jakes expounds on the power of the self and of instincts. He explains that our instincts that are placed within us by the almighty hold the key to the greater plan for our lives. We can only break our limitations of frustrations and fear the moment we realize this primal seed within us that is our instinct that waits to be planted to fruitful growth.
“Instinct” is aimed at a general audience of Christians and individuals who have an interest in understanding their spiritual role on earth. The book is majorly highlighted with references from the Bible giving a trajectory of its inclination towards religion and specifically Christianity. The Bible verses and references to Christian prayers used in the book appeals to the Christian audience. Its easy language, on the other hand, allows other general readers seeking to understand their spiritual role of their lives.
Clearly written in carefully structured sentences and grammar, the work is characterized by fluid concepts articulated in well-defined words in their correct grammatical format and sentence semantics. T.D Jakes uses his knowledge of the Bible and Christianity as a foundation for writing the book. The appeal of ethos is, therefore, the most influential tool that is used in the book to define and influence the direction of its concepts. Ethos is the backbone to the book as is evidenced from the massive use of verses and quotes from significant Christian figures and books.
The ethical appeal is furthermore seen throughout the chapter as is evidenced by the use of religious terms like ‘God’, ‘divine’, ‘the truth’, ‘prayer’ and ‘spiritual’. The author in the sub chapter,” You have what it takes “, explains that it is not enough to just have ideas and an instinct within us, the most important tool needed is instead action that helps to transform our instincts into the plans laid out for our lives. He connects the relationship between the mind and the heart. He states that it is the mind that guides on what to do but the heart affirms the passion and commitment to action and motion to real change (262). A strong passion pushes for results; he calls it, the divine investment placed within us that guides us to achieving the treasure for our future.
In page 263, he uses the pathetic appeal of imagery to illustrate the huge significance of what we have within us. According to him, the power within us is far greater than all other artificial technology made by man. He explains this with the innovations like Skype, Facebook, iPhones and iPads that have been created to help us share and communicate our ideas, highlighting that the data within these technologies is in essence what has been programmed by human minds. It is what is within the mind that counts, our ideas and thoughts. He notes that, it is not the vehicles we use to convey our message that counts, but the message we want to communicate. In the book, “The Power of Instinct”, this significance of our instincts and the role it plays in guiding our paths is illustrated in the statement that “our senses are but guides to how we can manage and control our future” (Thomas, 2008, pp.50).
He integrates his explanation with the ethical appeal and introduces a line of the Lord’s Prayer “Give us this day our daily bread” to give a clear explanation of the significance of timing. According to the prayer, Christians ask for the bread for the day, they do not want to wait for tomorrow (266). He advices his audience to learn the importance of utilizing the resources they have been given to achieve their goals “we must keep up pace with the challenges we face in our lives”. He uses this particular point to explain that to be able "to survive and thrive; we must be able to synchronize our instincts with the life that we lead”.
Works Cited
Jakes, Thomas, Dexter. Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive. New York: Faith
Works. 2014. Print.
Maxwell, John C. Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success. New
York: Warner Faith, 2004. Print.
Thomas, Jarrold. Instinct and reason, philosophically investigated: with a view to ascertain the
principles of the science of education. London: Longman, 2008: Print.
