Everyone Else’s Self-Delusions
(Posted 4/1/08)

It’s easy for me to have some measure of pathos (whether it be anger or pity) for the blaring contradictions I see in others. I find myself praying for God to peel the “false self” away from “them” so that they can experience the liberty of Christ (and of course, for the sake of my own personal convenience in dealing with them). And then, a stark realization hits me—hoping and praying for others to be freed from self-deceit means that I will most assuredly be shown my own self-delusions, inner-trickery, and contradictions. The very fact that I can see the illusions others wear is a sheer sign that my own fallacies are even more flagrant. If I’m so ready to be a “good Samaritan” in prayer for others, then am I ready to face myself by taking the road trip into my own enigmatic nature? I don’t know the answer to that. In the mean time, I hold to the hope of God’s mercy, albeit a severe mercy: It seems the Holy Spirit introduces us to Christ. Christ introduces us to ourselves; and therein lies being crucified with Christ. Thomas Merton said, “The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.” I’m on the road, wiping the mist away from the windshield, looking for those signs in the dark with one headlight while the oncoming traffic refuses to dim its lights.

-David

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