During the time British colonized India, many people died by venomous cobra in Delhi. In order to solve this problem, the government offered a bounty for every dead cobra head. It seemed to work well at the beginning as many cobra heads were brought for the reward. However, instead of number of cobra brought were deceasing, the number increased due to people bred cobra for income and thus, the number never decreased.
The government found this out and the reward problem stopped. As a result, the breeders released worthless cobras and as a result, the cobra population increased than before this program began.
The term, “cobra effect” stemmed from this incident which refers to an attempted solution to a problem actually makes the problem worse. Though this term is used in economy and politics, it is applicable in all aspect of life.
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (NIV) I am sure all of us have experienced a hasty decision or action of ours that flared the problem bigger. So before you start, ponder, plan and PRAY plenty.
Have a wonderful week!