What if I have the gift of
prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries. 1 Corinthians 13:2
When we race and run through reading
Scripture, we sometimes miss the subtle and subversive. Take the sentence above. There is one word that sticks out like a sore
thumb ~ all. I remember
growing up, my grandmother cautioned me not to be a “Know-it-all”. Don’t miss Paul’s jab here at thinking we can
have “insight to all mysteries”. We don’t
know it all. In fact, many people have
said, “It seems the older I get, the less I know.” Or with every birthday candle on my cake, the
I realize there is more mystery to life than I will ever explore, experience,
or exhaust. This doesn’t mean I know
nothing, but it does mean I continually question what I know, how I know
it, and what bias might be dripping from my conclusions. Brian McLaren points out a few ways we can be tripped up by and trapped by our own
thinking:
Confirmation Bias: We judge new ideas based on the
ease with which they fit in with and confirm the only standard we have: old
ideas, old information, and trusted authorities. As a result, our framing
story, belief system, or paradigm excludes whatever doesn’t fit.
Complexity Bias: Our brains prefer a simple falsehood to a complex truth.
Comfort or Complacency Bias: I prefer not to have my comfort disturbed.
Confidence Bias: I am attracted to confidence, even if it is false. I often prefer the bold lie to the hesitant truth.
Where do you and I find ourselves falling into one of these biases? Is there a time we think we understand everything exactly as it is? Or do we see how we want things to be? I pray today you would notice where you are convinced, confident, comfortable, and shying away from the beautiful complexity and contradictions of God born in a barn. May you and I learn to be open to the mystery of the Holy that moves and creates in ways we may never fully understand. Amen.
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