The Unbiased Confirmation Bias

 

Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

For example, my ultra-liberal (or ultra-conservative) friends share and “amen” articles, videos, and memes that fit their pre-adopted left (or right) leaning narratives.

I’ve been guilty of this myself. It is soooo easy to fall into this “confirmation bias” trap. If something sounds true - meaning, it seems to fit what we already believe - we believe it to be true without corroborating. It is the widespread epidemic of confirmation bias that has given us the relatively new phenomenon known as “fake news.”

What is the bias of all other biases? That we are the center of the universe. That our persona is what is most important in life and that our preferences ought to be the law of the land. So, whatever fits this bias, must be “true.” And whatever does not is repudiated, or simply ignored. How would you know if your Christian life has become hijacked by confirmation bias? Here are some possible diagnostic signs:

 -When we hear a particularly challenging sermon, we think mainly of who else needs to hear it or who else it ought to apply to, instead of how it might apply personally to me/us. “I really hope my spouse/ child/ friend is listening right now”.

   -We don’t pray much for God’s forgiveness, but mainly to get His blessings.

   -We think every strained or broken relationship we’ve ever experienced has always been the other person’s fault.

   -We constantly rehearse the failings of others in our mind and imagine dialogues with them in which we “put them in their place” and “win.”

The three steps remedy ∵

 1. Review, examine ourselves. Knowing and acknowledging we have this problem is necessary before we can even address it. Paul tells Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself” - 1 Tim. 4:16.

2. Repent. This is why Jesus said that if anyone wanted to come after him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. This means constantly repenting and redirecting our indictments inward, into our own souls.

3. Repeat the above steps daily remembering that Christ’s mercies are new every morning. And this mercy is meant to be shared, not hoarded. When we remind ourselves about our union with Christ, we cultivate

   a fearlessness to repent,

      a boldness to “own up,”

        a courage to be transparent, and

          an impulse to love our biased neighbor as much as we love ourselves.

Hopefully unbiased.

Football Up-Down-Up Live

 

Snow. Icy road. Heavy traffic. Driving slowly, I mean very sloooooow - not my style, but it was nothing I could do. I turned on the radio. Two talkative hosts and one guest, more reserved (it should be the other way around, but hey, we live a post-modern post-normal time) shared the microphone. They were discussing the career of Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. I never heard about him before, but they were passionate and nostalgic and angry, a rare mixture of feelings, so I continued to listen.

One said, "What a great player, unlike today’s sissies - just think, he carried that football for more than 9 miles."

The other said, "And every 3.8 yards, he got knocked down by a guy twice his size! And he did that for 9 miles."

The guest said, "Think of that. Every 3.8 yards, he's hit by what seemed to be a freight train. But he got back up, tucked in his shirt, and ran back to the huddle. It's this kind of perseverance that

- makes a football player a hall of famer,

- makes a Christian victorious,

- makes parenting successful,

- makes a marriage work." 

Bam, touch down! From football to life. Which is probably why the radio guys asked for a commercial break. And after that, changing the topic. But I am not. Because this is our daily Christian Super Bowl.

I stopped the car and I opened the Bible app searching for a particular Scripture. That’s it - Proverbs 24:16.

 

Loving the Love's Day in a Selfish Way

 

…and then she said to me, “I love loving the people who are special and love me.” Huh? Wait a minute here, it sounds like the quintessence of selfishness. But then she continued to talk, not realizing my perplexity:

“I love all things sweet and sappy and sentimental. I love red puffy hearts and pink shiny bows and glittery Valentine cards. I love heart-shaped pancakes in the morning, heart-shaped sandwiches at lunch and heart-shaped pizzas for dinner. I love presents covered in heart wrapping paper and red heart-shaped chocolates.”

Now I got it. She was in love with the idea of love. She loves Valentine’s day first, and then some of the people around her: family, work buddies, church people. She loves expressing-the-love, more than the love per se.   

Then I realized that I may be on the same path. Me sending V cards and giving V presents and sweets as a cultural trend, moral obligation and also to hear the feed-back, “oh, thank you, your are so nice, so sweet, so…” No, I am not. I am trying to be, but by nature I’m selfish.

I can be so easy to get wrapped up in the “sweet celebration of love” that I forget where all this love really came from. “We love each other because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just about us. If we are as intentional about loving Him as we are about expressing our love to each other, the whole day can still bring glory to the God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17).

Love is a verb. Love your loved ones in a practical way beyond the paper hearts and Kiss candies. Call your parents and in-laws. 

Go out of your way to serve your children/ grand-children and celebrate them today. Do something special for your love ones. 

Let your family feel not the love of Valentine’s Day, but the love of God reflected through you.

The Bible Is Clear

 

The Bible is clear: Moabites are bad. They were not to be allowed to dwell among God's people (Deut. 23). But then comes the story of "Ruth the Moabite," which challenges the prejudice against Moabites (Ruth 4).

The Bible is clear: People from Uz are evil (Jer. 25). But then comes the story of Job, a man from Uz who was "blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1). 

The Bible is clear: No foreigners or eunuchs allowed (Deut. 23). But then comes the story of an African eunuch welcomed into the church (Acts 8).

The Bible is clear: God's people hated Samaritans (John 4). But then Jesus tells a story about a Samaritan – role-model for everyone (Luke 10).

The story may begin on human level with

- prejudice

- discrimination

- animosity

but the Spirit moves God's people towards

- openness

- inclusion

- affirmation.

 

 

I read that the cure for resentment is to pray two weeks for the person for whom you're holding the resentment. Is there something extraordinary about a two weeks cure? Or just making an effort to pray for someone with whom we're struggling softens our hearts toward them?

Actually, I think the key that makes this wisdom true is the word “for”. Praying for, not about...

What's the difference? Quite a bit, really. Praying-about prayers are the kind that go something like this: "Lord, please make this person leave me alone. Do something about her mean attitude. After all, Lord, if she weren't so awful, I wouldn't have to hate her." In other words, praying about someone is really all about me and my own suffering.

In contrast, praying-for other people calls upon God's power to change the person for his/her own good, and to bring healing in whatever may be lacking which has caused the negative actions. It can never be the wrong thing to pray for our enemies, no matter what they've done to us. The Bible says, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Mat. 5:44). It's not easy, but it sure does put the smack-down on resentment. Become a grudgeless grudger.

Praying for the good of our enemies provides a two-fold miracle.

1 - First, it dilutes the development of bitterness in our own hearts, no matter how innocent we are and no matter how guilty the other person is.

2 - Second, it opens the opportunity for God to actually change that person rather than just to protect us from him. It also gives us an opportunity to share in the intercession that Jesus performs for us. We may offend God, but Jesus continues to pray for us and for the healing of our faults. And He say:

Go and resentment no more…

 

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them...” (Matthew 28:19)

Followers of Jesus were commanded to make disciples.

Disciples

not members,

not converts,

not decisions,

not friends,                                                                            

not admirers,

not voters.

Not supporters or donors or associates,

not advisors or assistants or helpers or counselors,

not critics or groupies.

Not pupils or customers, buddies, pals, or imitators,

not defenders, volunteers, temps, guests, visitors,

not hostesses, representatives, agents, or fans.

"Make disciples" Jesus said. We were not sent to make people religious nor to talk them into praying a magic prayer or to "like my Jesus”.  

We were sent to warn people that this lovely planet is the Titanic with an expiration date, and that the only way off is by the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior.

Go ye – yes, me/ you/ us...

 

Yearly ResolveUtions

 

This guy bragging now in February about his New Year’s resolutions made in December last year but kind of upside down, like:

- I won’t lose ten pounds this year

- I’m committed to lose 5K buying useless lottery tickets

- I’ll watch all the Netflix mindless shows

But there is one guy who I suspect played for keeps when he made New Year’s resolutions. You know, the zealot who could never do anything halfway, the let’s-get-real-about-our-faith apostle, Apostle Paul. Paul only had one resolution on his list: For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul’s message is radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone. What does this mean?

·   It’s not Christ plus my good behavior

·   It’s not Christ plus the years I taught a Bible class

·   It’s not Christ plus my tithe

·   It’s not Christ plus my title

·   It’s not Christ plus my favorite tele-preacher

·   It’s not Christ plus fasting one day per week

·   It’s not Christ plus a good driving record

·   It’s not Christ plus well-behaved children

·   It’s not Christ plus the size of my church

·   It’s not Christ plus the right type of facial mask

·   It’s not Christ plus the latest technology.

Christ plus nothing. It’s simply Christ. That’s Paul’s message, a message that is as right throughout this new year.

May your resolution for the year be nothing else but Christ and Him crucified.