A Twisted Meaning
You’ve probably heard this idiom before. A feather in your cap means a job well done, a success, an achievement. We earn feathers in our caps when we graduate, get a new job, receive a recognition. Some of us live for the feathers. Did you know warriors once added a feather to their cap for each enemy they killed? We’ve definitely twisted the meaning to be positive, but maybe the history is a cautionary tale.
Why do we do it?
Some psychologists actually believe that winning is the most important thing shaping our lives. Psychology professor Ian Robertson writes, “Winning increases testosterone, which in turn increases the chemical messenger dopamine, and that dopamine hits the reward network in the brain, which makes us feel better.” Some suggest we even live longer when we win. But we know what happens when we don’t win. We know what happens when we don’t win over and over and over again. Frustration. Anger. Depression.
How much is it worth?
How much is a feather worth? Is it worth lying? Is it worth pretending? When you do a good deed, is it about the good? Or is it about the show? Do you really want to help, or do you want others to know you helped? Does being seen make you feel like you are winning? Does that rush of dopamine cause you to do the things you do? Would you do good if no one else ever knew? And if you wouldn’t, is that wrong?
Matthew 6:2
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
Ultimately, we each know our own motivations for what we do. We do not always know the motivations of others, even when we think we do. It’s more important to monitor our own actions than to waste time and animosity toward what someone else is doing. When deeds are motivated by sincerity, people can feel that. Heartlight says, “Our sharing should be such an everyday part of life that we don’t even think about it, much less think about others noticing that we did it.” We were created to reflect the love of Christ, to honor God in what we do, and to direct others toward their purpose in Him.
Feathers in our caps can be great. There is nothing wrong with being motivated or with being successful. But being mindful of what we do and why we do it is even better than the feather itself. Who wants a room filled with “feathers” but not with family and friends we love? Who wants “feathers” but no genuine respect or relationships?
Our feathers aren’t to bring honor to what we have done on our own. They are to represent our roots and our beginnings, our trials in addition to our triumphs – all of it. Our feathers always begin and end in Him.
Read more on this topic here:
https://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0308-wjd.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-psychology-of-winning-and-losing/
