"seeing is believing" or is it the other way around?

You've often heard the phrase, "seeing is believing." You probably even have used it yourself many times. This saying sounds harmless enough, but it is one of the most treacherous deceptions of the human condition. In its rhythmic, "feel good" way, it assumes that what we trust to be true is determined by what we perceive is. This notion suggests we can trust what our physical senses tell us.

The best I can see is that our senses are generally biased to see things AS WE BELIEVE them to be. We likely have embedded beliefs that flow naturally from our self concept to protect and support how we think life works best. This is a vicious loop. We believe things are a certain way and then we interpret life to support what we believe. This is the source of our biases. This is why we cannot see certain things as they really are.

For example, many Christians have a view of God that fits their self-concept. It is not necessarily the view God has for us. Take this plaque from Romans 8:28 that some Christian shared to encourage others.

This looks right and in "seeing this," many Christians feel encouraged. It fits their self-concept of being a Christian. God is going to make their situation better at some point, so just hang in there long enough and one day He will cause circumstances to go their way, even if it doesn't happen until they go to heaven in the end.



However, there are two phrases this person added to this verse that are not actually there in order to make the scripture they see fit the belief they have.The phrase "God CAUSES" and the phrase "the good OF those" are not in the original text. This person sees something because they believe something. They do not believe because they see.

Here are the key phrases of this verse and what they mean in the original language for
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

"we know" - 'i see what you mean', what we see physically flows from and supports what we believe, not vice versa
"all things" - every piece of the whole, all the parts
"work together" - cooperate completely and perfectly
"good" - the intrinsic goodness OF God not the extrinsic benefit TO us (benefit of outcome is a different notion of GOOD than is used in many scripture verses about good)
"love God" - we know God's love for us is unmerited, but we don't always consider that our love for God is also unmerited (agape), which means CAUSE and effect is immaterial to our thinking and 'why?' is unquestionably the wrong question
"called according to His purpose" - set apart by (called) and for (according to) His will

This verse is best translated and understood this way:
"I see what you mean now (we know from what we have just learned), every piece of God's big picture (all things) cooperates perfectly (work together) to provide the very nature of God (good) to all people (TO those) whose affections for God are seen through the lenses of unmerited favor (loving God) and whom He has set apart (called) for His purposes." 

This is an amazing statement about the author and His story, not the characters and situations of the story. Simply put, a story is not about how the author CAUSES actions, events and outcomes, but how he/she weaves all of this to convey his/her story. Everything exists within the power of the mind of the author. That is what this verse explains. It claims everything in God's story fits together perfectly as the characters are invited to participate just as He intends (purposes). The characters and events then experience the reality of His intrinsic quality of goodness.

When what we believe is influenced by our human nature ('walking by the flesh'), WE SEE things, even scripture about walking by the Spirit, through the eyes of circumstances in this world and how that affects us. WE SEE through the eyes of one who believes its the "outcome of things" that matter.

When what we believe is influenced by our spiritual nature ('walking by the Spirit'). WE SEE things, especially scripture about walking by the Spirit, through the eyes of the Sovereign King and how we fit into His will. WE SEE through the eyes of one who believes its the "source of things" that matter.

You SEE, regardless of how we think we operate, "seeing is NOT believing". We first believe what our nature tells us and then "we see because we first believe."

PONDER THAT ......  Things are not always what they seem to be. Maybe that is the best message of Easter? I can celebrate that!!