Tuesday, 12 November, 2002

Again, from " Self Deception and Autobiography" by Stanley Hauerwas



On self-deception, Hauerwas quotes David Harned:

Seeing is never simply a reaction to what passes before our eyes; it is a matter of how well the eye is trained and provisioned to discern the richness and the terror, beauty and banality of the worlds outside and within the self. Decisions are shaped by vision, and the ways that we see are a function of our "character," of the history and habits of the self, and ultimately of the stories that we have heard and with which we identify ourselves.



He seems to go on to talk about how faith is central to the stories we have heard. If faith is, as Paul Tillich, would write, "our ultimate concern," then we must ask what is the object of our faith. For that object -that agenda -that story - will shape our seeing. When our faith is family centered, our vision will be shaped around our family or our children. If our faith is centered around our finances, our vision will be seen through that lens. That in which we place our trust will be the influence that trains our eyes to see the world in this way or that way. We claim to have the story of God revealed in the life, death and resurrection as our focus...our story above all other stories...the story in which we have faith for life. We say that this will shape our decisions in all we do. But as we all know, the other things in our live, in which we place our trust/faith are constantly working to win our allegiance and shape our vision so that we will see thing in ways that will be favorable to them.



Connection: Stay focused on the gracious reign of God and the promise that comes to us in the way of the cross. It would be a simply yet valuable exercise to simply ask: What is shaping my decision right now? It is a hard thing to ask and yet it is the way we face our self deception. It is best...to ask this question with other followers of Jesus helping us to ask and then discuss it.



Lord of All Truthfulness, we are pulled by many powers within our day. Some of them seem innocent and down right good...and yet, all the powers that pull us, no matter how they might appear, must be measured by the story of your gracious reign. Inspire us to see this day through the eyes of your promises for life. Amen.