We Are Delusional

People are naturally pretty adept at deluding, or deceiving, themselves. I don't say this in a hateful, judgmental way, because I too am likely delusional in some areas of my life.

I've seen many examples, in my life and in those around me, of a person's ability to believe their own point of view so strongly, being so prideful and so convinced

that they are right, that when their point of view is challenged or questioned, they demonstrate that they have actually become, to some degree, incapable of seeing, or at least admitting, any flaw therein. This is often followed by name calling, finger pointing, blameshifting, avoidance, and flawed logic; all done in an effort to protect their own point of view. Often they can't even give the other side credit for anything, instead believing them to be a "bunch of idiots".

Now, it should be understood here that there is a big difference between delusion and lying. Some people know what they're doing when they lie to protect their point of view, while others have so completely bought into their point of view that they genuinely don't see its flaws or any potential truth in another point of view. I tend to think that much of what appears to be delusion, is actually just lying.

What I mean is that people are so fragile that when they are confronted with the truth, it is often so painful and so ground-shaking, that they must take cover. This is often done by either sticking their head in the sand and pretending they don't see the problem, or by attacking the messenger. But, in terms of pra

ctical application, I'm not sure we can discern the difference between genuine delusion and lying without significant time invested in that person (and even then it may be extremely difficult). So, for the sake of brevity, let's just refer to all seeming inability to see or admit error as "delusional". Fun,

eh?

So, where do we see delusional behavior? How about in:

Politics - It seems rare for someone in either major political party to compliment the other side, or even to be able to credit them in any way.

Personal flaws - It is a rare person who can take criticism. Most people will, depending who the criticism is coming from, lash out in counterattack (either outwardly or inwardly). Others will simply self-destruct, thus being deluded that they are completely worthless.

Relationships - "It's obviously their fault, not mine."

Religion - This takes place internally, in the form of doctrinal debates, and externally, as a defense against other religions.

If you ever find yourself labeling a large group of society (A political party, a gender, a race, a religion, etc) as stupid, uneducated, evil, etc. then you are likely either lying in order to promote your own beliefs, or you

are self-deceived. Even when it's not a group, if we assume someone with an opposing viewpoint is a fool, then we may be guilty of a great irony. It

almost seems like a prime dictionary example of foolishness could be "believing that YOUR group is so right, and the OTHER side is so foolish." Okay, maybe not... but it sure fits. It's often only when this kind of behavior is viewed from the outside that it's sheer lunacy is apparent. Until we take the time to know someone, understand them and their point of view, then we would be wise to withhold judgment.

If you're a Christian, then you may appreciate what God has to say on the subject:

Jeremiah 17:9 - Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed.

Matthew 7:3-5 - Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? How dare you say to your brother, Please, let me take that speck out of your eye, when you have a log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

So, God says the human heart (In the Bible, the heart = the emotional core) is extremely difficult to understand and is naturally deceitful. This deception affects the heart's owner, and those around them. And before we can consider labeling others as foolish and self-deceived, God suggests we remove the "log" of delusion from our own eye first. You know...so you can see better.

What am I delusional about?

I can speak to some personal examples here, as I know of some clear examples of delusion from my past. I take no credit for overcoming these delusions, as it was clearly God who facilitated the introduction of countless books and, more importantly, several awesome friendships which pushed me (sometimes kicking and screaming) along the path away from these delusions.

1) Delusion #1: Democrats (or anyone "liberal") are evil and/or illogical and/or foolish. I have gone from believing this to believing a, hopefully, more balanced view which sees that all political parties are flawed and there is wisdom in examining both sides. I see huge flaws in conservative politics, and equally huge flaws in the liberal camp.

2) Delusion #2: Knowledge (which I saw as a synonym for "truth") is supreme. I used to believe that proving the truth, truths which I still believe in now, was of utmost importance. I've learned, thanks to my wife, that truth at the cost of relationships is folly. I also now see that, ironically, the truth in which I so whole-heartedly believe, values the love of God and love of mankind over the love of knowledge. In fact, the Bible describes truth without love as the "banging of cymbals". There is no better way to convince somebody of your point of view than by showing them it's merits in love.

3) Delusion #3: Other Christians, with opposing views, were silly and illogical. I now see that any hotly debated doctrinal subject (Calvinism vs. Arminianism would be a prime example) is hotly debated for a reason. And that reason is rarely that the other side is evil and just wants to have their evil ways.

The above are just three examples from my life, and I'm sure there are dozens more.

I think it's important to realize that MOST people's views have been shaped by their lives, and MOST people don't come to their conclusions without some amount of thought or reasoning. It's true, their reasoning may very well be critically flawed, but until you know that, you should withhold judgment. And, even once you confirm that someone is incorrect, or even delusional, judgment should be overshadowed by patience and love... after all, there's a good chance that you too are delusional in some (if not many) areas of your own life.

If you're wondering, and maybe curious about how to prevent this in your own life, I believe the best safeguards against this kind of attitude are 1) Be aware of your pet beliefs 2) HUMBLY seek to keep learning and growing, and not just reinforcing what you already believe to be true 3) Surround yourself with people from all walks of life, not just people who agree with you and/or tell you what you want to hear.

Can People do Good apart from Jesus?

In my last post I discussed why I believe people cannot sustain doing good (i.e. because of their nature), but I claimed that I believe people do desire and prefer good. This, however, flies in the face of what some Christians believe, that is that people are incapable of doing, or even desiring, good. It seems to me that this is a nasty little misconception, as it will affect how you view, and interact with, the world around you.

I'm guessing the primary support for this line of thinking would be Romans 3:10-12, with an Isaiah 64:6 kicker:

Romans 3:10-12 says:

"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

While Isaiah 64:6 says:

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; "

So, let me clarify what I believe these verses do and do not mean.

They DO mean:

1) Mankind is rebellious and does not seek God.

2) Mankind's best acts of kindness do not count as payment, or serve as a counterbalance to our acts of evil.

They do NOT mean:

1) God frowns on, or is not pleased with, mankind's acts of love and goodness.

2) Mankind (apart from a life in relationship with Jesus) literally does no good.

Explain the "relationship with Jesus" aspect and how Christians believe this to be the qualifier here.

What is "good"?

Good, in the context of Romans, is speaking of a general way of living. Submission to, trust in, and love for, God. This verse in Romans is a hyperbolic way of saying that we don't seek God as a way of life. Clearly God does not mean that we do nothing good. If you save a drowning child, God does not label that as evil, or void of good.

Mankind has remnants of the character of God within them. God sees the good, praiseworthy things done by Christian and non-Christian alike and, I'm sure, He smiles at them. That said, our genuinely good deeds, are both exceedingly rare and inadequate.

Exceedingly Rare

Genuinely selfless good deeds are quite rare. I say this because the vast majority of deeds which appear good and selfless are still motivated, deep down, by selfishness. Or maybe it's just that way for me. Most people talk about how helping others gives them a "sense of well being" or makes them "feel good". That's not selfless... That said, genuinely good deeds ARE done by many people on a regular basis. People sacrifice their lives to save others, they give much with no thought of recognition, and more.

Inadequate

Good deeds, no matter how genuine, are completely inadequate to repay or counterbalance our evils. Even if you take our evils against other people out the picture, we have done far worse to God. This is true both logically, and otherwise. Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher from long ago, argued that evils are more heinous if we are under greater obligation to the one against whom the evil is done. For example, we are under greater obligation to our parents than we are to an acquaintance, and so evil done against our parents is more, um, despicable. Since we owe God infinitely (He IS our creator afterall), then a single atrocity against Him is of infinite weightiness. (i.e. an infinite line with any width to it is far larger than the largest finite object). But, this is made much worse by the fact that our evils against God aren't even singular.

This is just one example to show our great (infinite) debt towards God, and I should think it obvious that we cannot repay that debt by doing a few acts of good. But, additionally damning is the fact that most of us do not do more good to others than we do harm. Our words, our inaction, our daily choices, inflict pain and suffering on others.

People are rebellious. Does the idea that we're rebels, and incapable of being "good enough", sound harsh?

God creates us, gifts us with our abilities, puts us on Earth with other people, desires that we maintain the Earth, love others, and live in peace... But what do I (and everyone else ever created) do? In varying ways and degrees, I deny His existence, use my abilities to further myself, squash others, abuse the earth, and create strife wherever I go.

I mean, people DO love good... just not when it challenges their freedoms, beliefs, or comfort.

So, all that to say mankind is rebellious, doesn't seek God, and our good deeds cannot earn God's forgiveness because our debt is infinite. HOWEVER, people still have echoes of God's design within them, and thus they love to do good, and that good is genuinely GOOD and pleasing to God, it's just not enough. People can do good apart from Jesus, they just can't use it as payment for their evils.

Do People Really Love Good?

I saw a recent ESPN poll which labeled Tim Tebow as America's favorite athlete, and I thought this odd. On one hand, sportswriters and athletes are constantly demeaning him, while on the other hand many people are fascinated and excited by him. While I suspect he got a large amount of votes simply for being outspoken about his faith, I also suspect he got votes because he's a nice guy. Everyone talks about how likable he is. How competitive. How hard working. It's a rarity in athletics and the world of celebrities.

This got me to thinking about how people view good. How they view the 'nice guy'.

I get the feeling that people don't generally like watching athletes, or performers, who think they're God's gift to the earth. People, again, generally speaking, seem to root for nice guys and underdogs... humble guys.. hard working guys. I haven't encountered too many people who are like "I love the way that guys points at his name on his jersey when he scores" or "I love how that guy struts after an interception" or "I love how that lady threatens her competition". No, generally people cheer for the nice guys/gals.

Maybe I'm way off, and maybe it's just me...but if I'm not, then this certainly seems like an odd tension.

Why? Well, the VAST majority of people seem almost completely incapable of sustaining acts of selflessness and humanity. I use celebrities and athletes as an example simply because they are at the pinnacle of wealth and power in our society, but I was struck recently by an article talking about the most charitable celebrities. I don't want to judge without having ALL of the details, but from what the article described, the most charitable celebrities seemed to give pretty minimally, and largely to causes unrelated to the suffering of the world. There are certainly exceptions, but they are just that....exceptions.

But this isn't just a problem among those with wealth, status, and power. It's a human problem which is simply more easily seen in those who are constantly in front of a camera.

Generally people don't like to see women and children abused, the weak oppressed and hurt, and property destroyed... but, when it benefits them, or when they feel threatened, most people are often completely willing to inflict this kind of pain and destruction. Need proof?

A simple example is seen in Stanford's 1971 Prison Experiment. The experiment was designed to test human nature by placing ordinary people in sudden positions of power or submission. Some were guards, and some were prisoners. It was intended to be two weeks in length, but was stopped after just six days because those overseeing the experiment found out that the guards were "were escalating their abuse of prisoners in the middle of the night when they thought no researchers were watching and the experiment was 'off.' Their boredom had driven them to ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners." In fact, the guards were reportedly upset to find out the study was terminated prematurely.1

So, experience shows us that most all of us will, when given power, abuse it. We see it in politics, in the business world, in neighborhood associations, and in schools. If this is the case, then why do we ever cheer for the 'nice guy'? Why not be consistent and cheer for the one in power?

I mean, basically, it sounds to me like we want to see good done, and we even want to do good, but we are often incapable of sustaining, it. When it comes down to it, most of us value ourselves enough that while we love to see good done, we also put our needs and desires above everyone elses; even harming them in the process. Why?

I believe it comes down to our very nature. We all experience an assortment of insecurities, fears, pride (believing WE know the way things ought be done, or that we are deserving of more), and feelings that we are unlovable. These feelings drive us to prove to ourselves, and to those around us, that we are strong and valuable. Unfortunately, in our efforts to prove this we often end up hurting those around us, and thus putting them in the same situation in which we find ourselves (fear, insecurity, and unlove).

Mankind is a revolving door of pain infliction. We are either receiving, or dealing out, pain and insecurity 24/7.

So, people clearly desire good. This desire is seen in who we cheer for, what we approve of, and who we vote for. However, because of this selfish nature, people are largely incapable, or undesirous, of pursuing good with any amount of consistency.

So how do you overcome this?

Well, for the most part you don't. Sorry to be a killjoy, but if you believe that self-preservation is a necessary evil, then you're going to do, well, evil. This is why, philosophically speaking, you cannot live this worldview and still look down on those who do evil to benefit themselves. After all, they're only doing what they feel necessary in order to pacify their insecurities and fears. They genuinely believe they know the best way to get the job done, and they're doing it. Alternately, they can't react in disbelief if someone more powerful does the same to them. This is obviously a simplified view of things, and people will likely argue for a utopian society in which we all do good and thus live harmoniously, but it's not a reality. People don't behave this way. And if you know that others will cheat, hurt, and oppress you, then you're likely going to do it first as a form of self-protection.

However, as a Christian, you've got to know that I believe that there is a better way. I believe that God made the world to function in a harmonious relationship; mankind with God, and mankind with mankind.

The bulk of the above is basically a description of sin; our inability to trust God with our fears and insecurities, and our belief that we know best and can run our lives better without God. Our efforts to find love and significance apart from the one place it can truly be found (in God). Jesus answers this by His work on the cross. This work ensures that our evils are not held against us, and because of His extravagant love for us, we're able to live in peace and confidence. Christians, despite their behavior, have no reason for fear, pride, and insecurity. We are free to love the world without fear of consequence or loss of power.

Obviously this is the condensed (and potentially incoherent) version of something which could fill a book, but I don't feel like writing a book today.