What seems right...

What seems right... may not be right at all. This is one of the harder lessons I seem to have to learn over and over. It is a paradox of sorts as what seems right, according to me, is often wrong, but it is often wrong only when it is only according to me. Confused? What I see is tainted by what I believe, and what I believe is, not matter how hard I try to avoid this, tainted by what I see, especially when I see only with my own senses.

We need sonar to see underwater, telescopes to see the sky and microscopes to see the microscopic world and, yet, we continue to rest on our own senses when it comes to interpretation of  the spiritual world. Everyone is spiritual no matter their worldview or belief system. Why can we not see that our view of the spiritual world is tainted by what we believe to be true, which, in turn, is tainted by what we experience?

Why do we deny this truth? We do so because we live in a world that has fallen victim to the influence of the positivist revolution initiated by Descartes and his Cogito. Descartes ushered philosophy into the modern era by insisting that our existence is confirmed by our ability to think. This is a much more complex discourse than this initial idea, but for our purposes today, this initial idea will suffice. This idea, through several stages, moved thought and ideas toward the positivist side of the equation, reducing everything to the objective and the empirical. If you can't measure it, observe it or experience it, then, for all intensive purposes, it is not real or true. The scientific method became the standard for excellence and truth, and all things subjective were reduced to insignificance.

Excellence, defined as that which can be measured, is one of the pillars of positivistism. As a professor said to me recently in jest, "If you can't measure it, it is art." Humor is humor because it is mostly true, and this statement, said in jest, best summarizes current prevailing thought. As Christians, we must reject this polarized objective view because, if allowed to exist autonomously, it will destroy everything we believe in slow subtle ways until we have nothing left. We must understand and embrace the subjective as well as the objective because the world in which we live, is temporal and, in many ways, subjective, especially the world that scripture references. Our faith depends upon our belief in fundamental truths that will never be objective, measurable or experienced in this world. Our faith and corresponding belief is the bridge from this world to the next. Reducing everything to objective truth dependent upon our senses for validity equates to blowing up that bridge and planting ourselves firmly in this world with no thought or hope of the next.

We believe we are created beings living in a world that was created by a Holy God who sent His Son to save us when we were still sinners. A Son, who came, and saw us, not as we were, but as we will be in glory. He ministered to us despite who we were and how we treated Him. He subjected Himself to the cross because of His love and His mercy and not because of anything we did for Him or for ourselves. Polarized objective positivism reduces everyone to little gods who require service to them. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many. Paul writes, to the Colossians, about this truth in a powerful passage regarding the preeminence of Jesus Christ.

    He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)

Jesus Christ is our motivation and our reason for being. What I experience and observe seems right, but in most cases, when I examine it, in light of scripture, I find it is anything but right. Whether you are a Christian or not matters little inside this idea as some are now coming to the realization that subjective truth is just as valid as objective truth. Truth is no longer only defined by objective quantitative statistical analysis; qualitative subjective analysis is becoming accepted and valid in analysis and research.

I leave you with this warning from scripture, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12 ESV). The implication is that we all walk according to what we believe, so, we better do all that we can to ensure that what we believe is moving us towards truth and not away from it. Today, the dominant belief is that the life we live on this planet in this time and space is the only life we will live. A growing majority believe this and live accordingly, which begs the question: shouldn't it now be easier to stand out as Christians?

There lies the problem: if those of us who believe in life everlasting live in the same way as those who do not; we will not stand out, but instead, we will blend and assimilate. Living this way in Christ is, in many of the same ways,  living according to what seems right, and we already know what scriptures says about that. Living a pragmatic segmented life, Christian or not, leads to the same product; a life marked by individuality, selfishness, division and pain. Love, selflessness, service and humility all disappear. Which set of character traits seem right to you? It will depend on which world holds your hope.