Articles
Seeing What We Want To See
Human beings are more impressionable than they might think. Sometimes people “see” what they expect to see; their experiences match their expectations. At Mount Sinai, God warned Israel about unfaithfulness: “I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues” (Lev. 26:36).
During World War II, deceptive tactics tricked the enemy into believing the opposing army was bigger or closer than it was (remember Gideon and the clay jars?). When playing the recorded sounds of tank machinery, “(The enemy) strains to see, and then swears he does see the shadowy forms of tanks emerging from the tree line. ‘Suddenly my ears are telling my eyes that there are tanks out there. ... Is it possible for your ears to tell your eyes to see something?’” (Philip Gerard, Secret Soldiers, p. 52).
Gerard continued: “Another well-known psychological fact of interest in deception is the association of stimuli received through several senses -- for example, sight and hearing. ... An observer, under the strain of impending attack and ... poor visibility ... will transform a suggestive noise ... into a strong illusion of a concentration of enemy forces and may firmly believe that he sees as well as hears them.’” This is why gullible people freak out over creaks and moans of a “haunted house” or believe their horoscopes.
It also partially explains how people can think they’re seeing miracles. When people condition their minds to believe in miracles and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit and then enter a highly emotional worship service, we should not be surprised that they “see” what they already have determined they will see. And telling them that they are not really seeing the Spirit or miraculous healings is futile. Their minds have interpreted the events according to their expectations.
None of us is immune to this phenomenon. We need to moderate our feelings – our anger, fears, lusts and superstitions – by the truth of God’s word lest we “see” what really isn’t there. “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:11-12).
