We have been discussing the need for Christians to be continuously willing to examine their biased opinions about life and the Bible. Remember the person who boldly declared, “I am what I am, and this is what I will always be?” It’s sad to imagine how many individuals actually feel this way about what they believe and who they are. Human nature is stubborn and sneaky. We seldom know people on the inside, as the conscience often views life as a poker game, holding certain cards close so that no one can see them. However, humans fail to comprehend that the way we live exposes what we believe we are hiding. We know what is in the well will come up in the bucket, and being secretive with the world does not matter near as much as ignoring and being in denial with God.
So, why and how do we refuse to recognize and deal with our weaknesses? Simple; We ignore and deny the conviction of the Holy Spirit’s call to step back and see ourselves the way God sees us. Most everyone has a deliberate hatred to change, and one aspect of the agonizing attempt to discover and re-arrange who we really are, is a psychological problem called The Dunning-Kruger effect. It’s a cognitive bias in which people become confused and wrongly overestimate their perception, knowledge, or ability in a specific area. This can apply to any subject and is basically a lack of understanding reality along with an inflated attitude of pride, hindering them from being a reliable and respected source of truth.
It’s no surprise that many individuals rate their intelligence, logic, grammar, and personality far above average. According to these studies, those who performed at the lowest levels were convinced they were highly intelligent and believed those around them perceived them as bright and clever. It’s thought that confidence is so high on our self-esteem list that people would rather pretend to be smart than risk being embarrassed or labeled mentally inadequate. In other words, the world is not short of people who are know-it-alls about everything, because they are insecure about everything. I Peter 5:5-6 says, “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, as God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Peter references Proverbs 3:34 to show how the choice to be humble is not just about human relationships. God’s natural response to pride is to oppose, but His reaction to humility is to reward with grace.
Those who are considered brilliant can also be plagued with this problem, as having intelligence and knowledge is not the same as developing and learning how to be like Jesus. Research attributes this attitude to “metacognition,” the inability to honestly analyze one’s own thoughts and personality. Those with limited knowledge in a domain suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Why do people think they know more than they do? They are often driven by a desire for respect and admiration and the need to appear smarter than the people around them. Why do people overestimate their competence? This refers to the difference between what people think they know and what they really know.
I’m reminded of the old saying, “The more I learn, the more I discover I do not know” which is a more modest way of perceiving ourselves and life in general. So what does this have to do with our Christian life? Everything. If we see ourselves as having no personal faults and that God does not care about our sins, we are living in an illusion that is preventing us from pleasing Him. If we believe we are doing everything right, we disregard our need to repent, and thus are drifting further away from God every day. This twisted thinking is a self-inflicted deception that rejects the responsibility of admitting we are sinners who desperately need God every moment. The Apostle Paul speaks about this in Romans 12:3. “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of themselves more highly than they ought, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com. Email is Psalmz103@gmail.com
