APPEARANCE AND REALITY

After reflecting on the biblical narrative (Oct. 15 posting by Rick Annunziata) concerning Solomon’s gold shields being replaced by brass shields, I decided to follow up with this article.

Appearance and reality is a common theme in literature. Children learned that lesson from Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Our lives are full of instances where we are confronted with mismatches between appearances and reality. “Things ain’t the way they seem to be”.
When we stereotype people, we apply supposedly group characteristics that can lead to prejudice. Racial tensions are a good example illustrated by the slogan: “Black lives matter”.
People may see their perceptions as factual and they may not understand that their perceptions are shaded by their opinions. Have you ever judged someone by appearance only to find that person to be the opposite of what you perceive them to be? Moreover, Jesus admonishes us to not judge others.

Count the pieces of lumber. Are you sure you are correct? Perceptions are often deceiving.

Misperceptions are part of life. For example, magicians fool us with their tricks. I sometimes watch the Penn and Teller show to be entertained by the aspiring magicians who fool us with their acts. In baseball, pitchers use a so called changeup pitch to fool the batter. A changeup is intended to resemble a fastball but is slower. The changeup is typically thrown after a fastball using the identical arm and body motion from the pitcher. The batter believes the ball is coming fast resulting in a swing and miss. 
As Christians, we should be deeply concerned about what is really taking place, so that we can grow well and serve the Lord effectively. Reality cannot be perceived based merely on outward appearance or superficial observations or subjective feelings.

How do we learn to perceive this reality as God sees it instead of falling into the error of perceiving things based on our feelings or outward appearances that may not be the actual reality?  I found that being open to The Holy Spirit through prayer, the sacraments and reading the Bible draws me closer to God.  

An example of appearance and reality from The Bible is the account of David as God’s chosen king.
In 1 Samuel 16:6, 7, the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse to choose a king amongst his sons and to anoint the one whom He had designated.
The Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Our senses may not always be accurate in helping us to draw conclusions. Also the powers of darkness may try to deceive us.
Deception by the evil one in The Garden of Eden caused the downfall of man.
Since we are influenced by the outward appearance of things, we tend to act on what affects our senses. Other influences include the powers of evil at work in the world.  With God’s help we can learn to be more conscious of the spiritual realm and learn to perceive things accurately.

Michael Brown from his Spirit Daily.com website reminded me of an Indian Christian mystic named Sundar Singh who said that we have a tendency to draw conclusions about people based on little information. Apparently this makes us feel superior when we want another person to seem bad.
Singh reminds us that we are tainted by our sinful nature that leads us to believe evil reports because they fit our evil nature. Conversely a good man’s attitude is the opposite because it fits with the goodness of his nature.
I like the famous writer Robert Louis Stephenson’s quote:
There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it behooves any of us not to talk about the rest of us. 

During our lifetime we can become cynical and negative. We see through a darkened lens covered with our own grime that distorts reality.
Here are the steps to correct our vision:
1.    Examine our own consciences to see how we view others.
2.    Clear our smudged proverbial eyeglasses or lenses to see clearly.
3.    Practice unconditional love with others.

As Catholics, we have the sacrament of Confession to cleanse our hearts. Moreover, unconditional love removes our accountability before the judgment seat of Christ.
As Jesus reminds us:
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-3 KJV)

In conclusion, we are all called to evangelize as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). You are needed to share the gospel because there are many people who need to hear the truth about Jesus, and you might be their only chance to hear the gospel.