The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)
Human beings are fascinated by illusion. In large part, it’s what drives many of Hollywood’s blockbuster box-office profits. According to Dictionary.com, an illusion is something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
More than likely, you’ve seen either a TV show or a movie that has some content involving someone performing an illusion. To be clear, I am not talking about—or am I promoting—the occult practice of magic. I’m talking about somebody doing something that seems impossible, but is perfectly explainable—only we don’t know how they did it. So our eye (i.e. brain) is fooled into thinking that what we just witnessed was real, when in actuality it was an illusion.
The truth is we all live with some measure of illusion, which (I speculate) may be healthy—even necessary—for survival. If unchecked, however, this can potentially be detrimental.
About seven years ago, the company I work for began downsizing its workforce. A close friend of mine, a VP who had been with the organization for 20 years, was one of the first to go. When I asked him how he was doing, he answered with a single word: disillusioned. He thought the organization actually valued his 20 years of service and would be as loyal to him as he had been to the organization. The reality is that a publicly held company exists to make money in order to give shareholders a return on their investments. When revenue is up, staffing is robust and everybody feels secure in their positions. When profits decline, people suddenly become “resources” that are as easily discarded as a worn out copy machine. So when my friend became disillusioned, what he was actually saying is that his eyes were opened to see things as they really were.
For most of us, disillusionment has a negative connotation, but did you know that Jesus was intentionally disillusioned?
But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
John 2:24-25 (ESV)
Since Jesus knew what was in man, He was under no illusion as to the motive and intent of those around him. Maybe that was because He knew Jeremiah had prophesied approximately 700 years earlier that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Whatever the reason, our Lord’s discernment was crystal clear and His expectations of people were realistic. For instance, He didn’t become disillusioned when Judas betrayed Him; He already was. He wasn’t surprised that His message was not well-received among the religious leaders of His day, because He was not living under any form of illusion. He had a clear perception of reality, and I submit to you that Jesus lived with a healthy form of disillusionment.
As I have studied this and prayed about it, I concluded that by realizing people are flawed by nature, I might be less likely to be tripped up if/when they offend me or disappoint me. Even those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, have buried the old man (self) in baptism, and have become new creations in Christ are still influenced by the law of sin (see Romans 7:21-23).
To reinforce this point, let’s consider a hypothetical example. Perhaps you live under the illusion that people in positions of ministry leadership are somehow less susceptible to temptation or are more likely to “get it right.” Then, if they do or say something that you think is wrong, your world falls apart because you had an unrealistic expectation of them.
If I look at everyone wearing skin as being susceptible to the same temptations as me, then maybe I will stand a better chance of extending grace to them when they fall short of my expectations. Better yet, maybe I can get rid of my expectations altogether and just love them as they are. It certainly would be nice if others would do this for me, so maybe I should take the initiative and love others in this way. After all, is this not one of Christ’s signature teachings (Luke 6:31)?
Though easy to write, it is not easy to live. So I’m asking God to help me be disillusioned. This may sound crazy, but give it some time and I think you will agree.
Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, first published April 7, 1837, is considered a children’s fable, but it conveys a powerful message to people of all ages. It actually speaks to a number of issues related to the human heart (pride/vanity, dishonesty, cowardice/fear of man). The closing paragraph of Anderson’s narrative reads as follows: “The Emperor realized that the people were right but could not admit to that. He thought it better to continue the procession under the illusion that anyone who couldn’t see his clothes was either stupid or incompetent. And he stood stiffly on his carriage, while behind him a page held his imaginary mantle.”
May the Lord help us to be disillusioned people who are honest with ourselves and realistic in our view of others; and in this reality, may we find the grace to love others even as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.
