What We Expect to See

 

How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers! Instead, he finds pleasure in obeying the Lod’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night. He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts. Psalm 1:1-3

 We are given a lot of choices in this life. Do you want to sit in the front or the back? Do you want your coffee hot or iced? Many choices, like these, are inconsequential, but then come the more influential ones. Who will you spend your time with? How will you interact with the world? These choices are typically influenced by what we meditate on. Lots of people will say, “I don’t meditate, that’s for hippies!” Ok, maybe not lots of people, but more than one I’ve known 😂. Here’s the definition of meditate for you from Webster’s 1828:

MED'ITATE, verb intransitive [Latin meditor.]

1. To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind; appropriately but not exclusively used of pious contemplation, or a consideration of the great truths of religion.

His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalms 1:2.

 Yep, you caught that right. Webster actually used today’s verse in his definition of the word meditate. Nearly two-hundred years ago Webster was thinking about the same thing I am today. What you are “meditating on” is simply what you think about, the thoughts that take root in your mind that you mull over and over. Proverbs 23:7a tells us, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he:” Your thoughts influence so much more than you will ever know.

 Have you ever known a melancholy person? I’m not talking about someone dealing with clinical depression, I’m referring to a personality type. This person always seems to have some trouble or other. Nothing ever goes right for them. These are the Eeyores of the world. Don’t get me wrong, I love Eeyore. In fact, my son gave me a stuffed Eeyore for Christmas that I sleep with every night.

 And then there are those joyful people. These are the people for whom the city could be burning down and the zombie apocalypse be upon us and yet they say, “Isn’t that a pretty flower?” These are the ones most likely to start something great because they have hope that it could go somewhere. These are the Tiggers, so full of life it literally bounces right out of them!

 Believe it or not, the world needs both kinds of people. We need the creators and those who bring us back to reality to consider the consequences. But what I want us to examine today is what makes these people the way they are? Why does one person see the glass half full and the other see it half empty? It is because of the meditation of their hearts. We see what we expect to see in the world. According to an article from Neuroscience School, “we perceive the world based on our internal predictions, not just on external events. We not only see what we expect to see, we also hear what we expect to hear.” They did studies where they actually implanted electrodes into people’s brains (?!?!) to measure how they processed experiences. What they found about our internal predictive process is that, “While it generally enhances cognitive efficiency and adaptability, it can also lead to biases and distortions in perception and cognition, leading to cognitive biases and misunderstandings.”

 Wow. Cognitive biases. Yeah, that sucks. We actually misunderstand what we are seeing and hearing based on what our brain is telling us we should be seeing and hearing. You know how Ecclesiastes taught us that there is nothing new under the sun? Well, this scientific study found that, “People often lack the motivation to monitor their decision-making processes. Moreover, even when people are motivated, attaining accurate awareness of their decision processes is a difficult task. The best strategy for reducing such biases would be to control one’s exposure to biasing information in the first place.” In other words, we need to be careful about who we hang out with and what we meditate on.

Here's the Thing: I’m not sure why we feel the need to keep reinventing the wheel. They put electrodes in people’s brains and spent who knows how much time and money studying this just to find out, oh yeah, the Bible is right and God had it figured out millennia ago! We have to be choosy about what we watch, who we spend time with, and what we listen to. It makes a big difference!

Abiding in Jesus

  1. Week 1: Trusting the Gardener's Work
    1. John 15:1 - Seven Things Jesus Is
    2. John 15:2 - Pinch Those Suckers Out!
    3. Philippians 2:12-13 - Working Out My Salvation
    4. Matthew 5:16 - Stay Salty!
    5. 1 John 1:6 - Walking in Relationship
  2. Week 2: Bearing Lasting Fruit
    1. John 15:3-4 - It Takes Two to Abide
    2. John 15:5 - Grafted In
    3. John 15:6 - The Most Important Post You'll Ever Read
    4. Psalm 1:1-3 - What We Expect to See
    5. Galatians 5:22
  3. Week 3: Abiding in Jesus Through His Word
    1. John 15:7-8
    2. John 8:31-32
    3. Psalm 119:9-11
    4. Psalm 119:15-16
    5. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
  4. Week 4: Abiding in Jesus Through Obedience
    1. John 15:9-10
    2. James 1:22
    3. 1 John 3:24
    4. Matthew 7:24-25
    5. John 14:23-24
  5. Week 5: Abiding in Jesus Through Love
    1. John 15:11-12
    2. John 15:13-14
    3. 1 John 4:10
    4. 1 John 4:11-12
    5. Romans 12:9-13
  6. Week 6: Chosen and Commissioned by Christ to Bear Fruit
    1. John 15:15
    2. John 15:16
    3. Ephesians 2:10
    4. Galatians 6:9
    5. John 15:17

Wrap-Up

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