I am going to take a chance here. There will probably be those who will think that what I am dealing with in this article is political in nature (you will see why shortly). It is not, however. It is just that when it comes to a person’s worldview filter, as people look through their worldview lens, they virtually always see things in ways that validate their filter. Based on that principle, we all have a very difficult time understanding anything that does not fit with our worldview beliefs. Jesus often dealt with this problem as he taught his disciples and others. He would tell stories about everyday life to illustrate spiritual teachings, and, more often than not, people would totally misunderstand what he was saying because they took the illustrations literally instead of understanding the spiritual symbolism he was expressing.
As a pastor, I have seen this problem play out as I counseled couples who were wanting to get married. In those sessions, some of the things we discuss are matters that could possibly create problems for them down the road. As I interact with them, it sometimes becomes evident to me that a particular couple is going to have a rough go of it; perhaps because they have a different philosophy about raising children, a different approach to dealing with money, and other things. One very big problem often relates to the couple having entirely different religious values. When I pick up on these things, I always point them out in order to make them aware of the issues, and hopefully help them start thinking about these before they marry. But almost without exception, the response I get is a blank stare. They are so “in love” that issues like these don’t even register. The expression “love is blind” is oh so true.
But let’s take this basic concept and expand upon it in a different direction. As it turns out, hate is blind, too.
A worldview is a set of “assumptions” about the nature of reality. Assumptions are beliefs that seem so obvious that a person does not even question them – in fact, most people are not even aware of their underlying worldview beliefs; they are unconscious. Let me give an example of this as it relates to politics. Perhaps you have seen, yourself, that those who have political beliefs that are associated with their worldview beliefs will consider people who have different political beliefs to be actually operating outside of the realm of reality.
Recently I engaged in an interaction on Facebook based on a meme that expressed hatred toward president Trump. The people who were chiming in on this were mostly people who hate Trump and are totally unable to understand how anyone could have any sentiment toward him except deep loathing. In fact, if they see another person who doesn’t express the same kind of hatred that they feel, they think that person is shilling for the president. It is not even enough to be neutral – it has to be hatred.
I jumped in on this “hate Trump” conversation and didn’t make even a single comment about Trump. Rather, I simply decried the fake news and hypocrisy of those who are willing to call out the president for things they don’t like, yet completely ignore outright lies in the media if those lies back up their beliefs. My point had to do with honesty and integrity in society, not with any particular political point of view.
Well, you would have thought I had killed someone’s mother. Even though my comments had nothing to do with defending Trump, the fact that I was not bashing him, to them, meant I was defending him. There was virtually nothing I could say to convince these people otherwise. They were simply unable to see what I actually said, because their worldview lens said that anyone who didn’t bash Trump was a shill for him.
The fact is, we have a truth crisis in our country. The Postmodern mindset that is prevalent in our nation allows for truth to be relative to an individual’s own personal preferences. Most people simply don’t see truth in objective terms anymore. Thus, when someone expresses the truth as something that is objectively real, those who don’t like what is said simply deny it and put forth “their own truth.”
So, exactly where does this truth crisis come from? In a nutshell, it is an expression of a false worldview. The Postmodernist beliefs that so many people in modern society hold allows them to believe that their approach to asserting truth is real, while it is actually an expression of fantasy. They believe they can legitimately ignore and push back against any belief that does not correspond with their preferred beliefs.
But the truth is, there is an actual way reality is structured and it is not structured in any other way. People who hold Postmodernist beliefs simply don’t believe that to be true, and live “as if” their false belief, that “truth is relative,” is true.
The blind hatred that we see expressed so often today, then, is an expression of a set of worldview beliefs that do not reflect reality; and for those of us who care to deal with untruth, there is only one possible approach. Pushing back against these false beliefs is certainly not an easy thing to deal with, but it is possible – and the way to do that is with the truth. Every time false beliefs are put forth, we have to counter it with the truth.
The Bible says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Those who spout forth untruth are, literally, living in bondage and they don’t even realize it. And for them to be set free, a literal conversion is required. God is constantly knocking on people’s hearts in his quest to set them free from the bondage of their false worldview beliefs. As for our part, he has put believers in a position to be his agents in the world to carry that message. But to carry out that mandate, we must know the truth ourselves and learn how to articulate it.
Hate is blind, but “the truth” has the potential to open the eyes of the blind. God is in the business of opening people’s eyes to the truth, and he has called believers to partner with him in that effort. Those who are willing to do it must equip themselves to counter society’s lies with the truth.
© 2017 Freddy Davis