Projection and “Reframing Our Experience” Self Deception Series 29 – Purity 1118

To see today's work of art, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's work of art, Going Out Deer Hunting in the Adirondacks, comes to us from Arthur Fitzsimmons Tate, who put oil to canvas back in 1862 to share the beauty of a wilderness experience. Tate hailed from New York City, but from his work we can assume he had some love for the great outdoors. I captured Tate's work with my iPhone camera while at the Adirondack Experience Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, and I thought I would share this artistic portion of my experience with you. The caption that accompanied Tate's painting, written by Samantha Lafond, owner of Naturally Wild Taxidermy, stated, "One must truly experience nature to fully appreciate all it has to offer." I guess looking at paintings of it just won't do. Sorry. Uh, Lafon goes on to write, an outdoorsman or woman is always excited about the next pilgrimage that may lay ahead. Adventures in the great outdoors allows us to thrive. They allow us to embrace new challenges and become a superior self. After a day's hunt, good company, and a night's rest, I have Tate shouts, "See you down the line!" to his good friends while his Adirondack guide, Captain Calvin Parker, prepares the boat for another great day in the wilderness. Can I tell you, I love the great outdoors. I love looking at paintings of it, and I love the captions that inform us of some of the details about the artists and the scenes they create, but If we consider their words honestly, we can realize that Tate isn't the only one painting a picture here. If we read into Lafon's comments, we may question whether or not we really are, uh, are really an outdoorsman because we are inside looking at art of all things and could walk away a little dejected if we aren't always excited about the next pilgrimage that may lie ahead. Or don't feel our outdoor excursions are making us into a quote-unquote superior self. And I guess we will just have to take it on faith that the people in this painting are who Lafon says they are. Is that really Tate and Parker near the guideboat? Uh, is that really what they look like? Really? I wonder. And if Tate Is, is Tate really saying, "See you down the line?" Because the look on those other men's faces don't seem too friendly. That guy in the front of the boat seems to be holding his oar as if he is responding to a curse from some city slicker more than he's waving howdy. Or at least it looks that way to me. But maybe my view and interpretation of this painting is a little clouded because I don't hunt and because I feel I have I don't feel I've attained to my superior self as a great outdoorsman yet, and as someone who was raised as a small-town city dweller, fear I never will. I may be attributing thoughts and feelings to this painting that aren't necessarily true. How we frame things can really affect how we see them. If you don't— if you notice, I tried to crop out the frame that was around this painting because I didn't want to— the border to affect our appreciation of the original work. For better or worse, I want— I wanted to present the painting as much as I could as it was. One of the exhibits at the Adirondacks Experience Museum demonstrates what a different framing makes. The exhibit presents 3 different paintings in 3 different colored frames that you can remove and place as you see fit. The quality of the presentation was positively or negatively affected depending on the color scheme of the painting and how it complemented— or it was complemented by or clashed with the color of the frame. But that judgment of quality too was subjective, as we would project our preferences and the way we, quote unquote, saw it to determine what frame went best with each painting, making us like it or hate it. And that brings us to our current series on self-deception. Where we have decided to investigate some of the ways we deceive ourselves by walking through Step 2, Deception vs. Truth, of the Steps to Freedom in Christ, to see what ways we may have deceived— been deceived by the world, ourselves, and in what ways we have wrongly defended ourselves. So we present the sixth of the ways to wrongly defend yourself. Uh, number 6 is projection. The Steps to Freedom in Christ described projection as attributing to another what you find unacceptable in yourself. To give you an example of projection, I share the following passage about parenting teenagers from Myra et al.'s book Introduction to Psychology and Counseling: Christian Perspectives and Applications. And the quote says, parents generally view a teenage son or daughter in one of three ways. Some parents project their own sinful impulses onto their teenagers, suspecting their teenagers of doing things of which they are not guilty. Other parents automatically assume that their teenagers are extensions of themselves. Both attitudes are unrealistic. The third, healthy way is empathy. Parents who empathize with their teenagers accept them as separate individuals and try to understand them and and their struggles, especially in discussing sexual matters with their teenagers, parents should be sure they are not projecting unwarranted suspicion or assuming that their children think exactly as they do. Projection is associated with deception because it wrongly assumes something is true about someone else. Although this passage and the Steps to Freedom's description lead us to associate projection with negative, sinful, or unacceptable attributes, The opposite is also true. In our example, the second error that parents make— can make about their teenage children is that they are extensions of themselves. They're, you know, i.e., they are just like me in a good way, holding the same values, preferences, etc. That's also a form of projection. And to quote Susan Caudill's article from Psychology Today on projection, 'People project all the time, and it's neither good nor bad, depending on which qualities are projected and whether or not they are denied in the self.' She goes on to say, 'Projection can be the basis of wonderful qualities such as empathy, generosity, and romantic feelings, or negative qualities such as rage, greed, and contempt. Projection both helps people to fall in love and also to hate and revile others.' So in the example of parenting teenagers, we could think the best or worst about our teenagers based on our projection. The best practice of any relationship is to accept others as separate individuals and try to understand them and their struggles for what they actually are, not, not what we assume they are. A healthy dose of truth and insight into what one another is thinking can really help our relationships because we often project assume and react to things that aren't true. Beyond our relationships, understanding projection can also help us to understand ourselves, as an examination of our projections can reveal to us unconscious emotions and desires that we are denying. So the way we view and respond to others may have a lot to say about ourselves. In regard to the way we live as Christians, we need to judge things according to the truth. And whole counsel of God's Word, accepting God's, not man's, standards for what is right and wrong, and balancing it with the love of Jesus, who paradoxically taught us to love our enemies. In our dealings with our neighbors, we need to understand the propensity for sin in the hearts of our fellow men, but be sure to not judge others. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:2, For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Jesus is in effect telling us that the standard we project on others will be projected on us, and He directs us to take our high level of critical discernment and to look at the man in the mirror, to concern ourselves with taking care of the plank or log in our own eyes before concerning ourselves with the speck in our neighbor's eye. The indication is that when we repent and successfully overcome our own sinful inclinations, we will have more compassion, empathy, wisdom, and care in encouraging others to overcome theirs. So, to put that in terms that people of my hip-hop-loving generation could— can understand: check yourself before you wreck yourself and endeavor to live by faith, by the truth of God's Word, and to be sure to examine what you are thinking about someone else to see if it's true and to see if it might be reflecting the struggles of your own mind and heart. And if you're projecting harsh or negative attributes onto God that more accurately reflect your earthly father or some other imperfect figures of authority from your life, be sure to check yourself there too. —because our God may be just, righteous, and holy, but He is also good, faithful, patient, gentle, loving, and kind. When it comes to correcting projection, we need to seek the truth and allow it to set us free. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from from the section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, and Trials. And today's scriptures are Isaiah 38:15-19 from the New International Version. Yeah, I believe that's right. Anyway, Isaiah 38:15-19 says, but what can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord, by such things people live, and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction. You have put all my sins behind my back— behind Your back. For the grave cannot praise You; death cannot sing Your praises. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. The living, the living, they praise You, as I am doing today. Parents tell their children about Your faithfulness. Today's verses fall under the 15th point of our Counseling Reference Guides resource section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, Trials. That 15th point is King Hezekiah praised God for loving discipline. And yeah, so those words that were spoken at Isaiah were quotes from the king, King Isaiah, who basically prayed, you know, was on the verge of death and he prayed for healing. And Isaiah told him, you know, the Lord has heard your prayers and you're going to be healed, basically. And this is part of this section of scripture is Hezekiah's response. To that, you know, what can I say? You know, he is, uh, he's spoken to me and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. So, you know, he was hurting. Today's verse show us how the right view of God can give us an interpretation of our suffering that is contrary to the reality of the experience. Suffering is a bad thing after all. Pain hurts. Loss hurts. In and of themselves, it is difficult to view pain or loss as a good thing. As I struggle, uh, and to speak, and to keep us from becoming masochists, we would procla— who would proclaim that it hurts so good. Um, let's keep it real by admitting to the reality of the negative aspect of our pain and loss. It really does hurt, and it really does, you know, hurt us to, to suffer physical pain and loss. We don't want to live in denial, after all, by saying bad experiences are really good, because they are not. However, at the same time, when we look at— look past the pain of our suffering and see that it resulted in some positive effects, like our maturity, or simply learning to never do that again, or that it is part of God's purposes in some way, the pain is reframed so it doesn't be continue to be a source of anguish or bitterness. The loss of our loved ones hurts like hell, but in reality, we are all destined to die. We couldn't live forever after all. However, in Christ, we do live forever. So the loss of our loved ones, if they were in Christ, could be— and gently, and I gently say should be— reframed so it isn't a constant source of anguish. For our good, God wants us to accept the way things work in his kingdom and trust that he has things in control. And also, we want to see it, you know, have it reframed so it's seen as a good thing for our lost loved one. They are no longer suffering on the earth and are in the splendor of God's kingdom. Their pain is gone. Their suffering is gone. They know the truth of the mystery of God's kingdom. They are with God. They have joy, and we will see them again. And we need to reframe it so it is seen as a part of God's purposes. It may seem tragic to us, but it all went— oh, even the pain and suffering went according to God's plan. We were meant to experience this things this way because the way we were meant to experience things this way because it was the way it was supposed to be. When we reflect on the details of Christ's passion, we could second-guess the Lord and wonder why Jesus had to suffer the things he did to that extreme, etc. But Jesus knew what the pain— what the plan was, and because of the joy set before him of doing the Father's, Son's, and Holy Spirit's will being done, and for our salvation, He suffered the cross. God's plan included suffering, but when we realize the results, we realize it was a good plan after all the same. As for those who reject the Lord, we know they would not want— would not have been happy in His presence in the afterlife. They did not seek His company on earth, so why condemn them to be in His company in eternity? Those who reject the LORD make themselves God and rightly are punished for their iniquities. They freely chose their path away from the LORD and they must walk it out. King Hezekiah was suffering greatly and was on the verge of death, but he knew that God was good. Even though he suffered, he considered it good because, despite his physical pain, and death that would eventually stop his time on earth, Hezekiah considered the discipline of the LORD to be a good thing because God's love kept him from the pit of destruction. So know that God is good and do your best to reframe your suffering, to look beyond the pain and loss to rest in His presence and peace here on earth and in eternity forevermore. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Holy Spirit, and today we're sharing from— we're continuing to share from chapter 19, The Spirit Teaching, and today's topic is Tests for the Spirit's Teaching. So if you want to You know, that's— if you want to know about the Spirit's teaching, go to the end of today's blog post, and you'll see what A.W. Pink has to say about that, but I would say, you know, that's the great thing about our faith. It's testable. Now, you should, you know, test it more than once and, you know, continue to follow, resolve to follow the Lord, but But if you apply the Word of God to your life, you'll see that it is true. And when you realize God has a purpose beyond our own selfish desires and wants, you know, you can have peace about even your desires not coming to pass because God knows best, and He's moving all things towards His plan., and the way things happen are the way things were supposed to be, because that's what happened. It may not be good things. Pain and suffering isn't a good thing, but it was what we were meant to experience. Christ had to suffer pain and suffering, but after the pain and suffering, Jesus isn't holding on to any anguish or bitterness about it. Because the suffering ended, it was temporary, and because it was for a higher purpose. And we have to realize that our suffering is temporary and that it ultimately leads to a higher purpose of life eternal in God's kingdom. You know, Christ had joy because of the pain, you know, because of what he had to suffer, because he knew that it It was temporary, and it was for a greater purpose. And so we need to reframe that and reframe our suffering in those terms and according to God's word. And when we do that, we can experience a freedom from pain and suffering that we never knew before. We can experience our freedom in Christ. And the reason why we do our podcast, our blog, is to encourage people to know their freedom and know who they are in Christ. And to help with that, we share our teachings that we did back in 2021 at our local church from Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. They're all available on our podcast and our YouTube channel. And we also encourage knowing the Word of God through Bible study, and we offer a Bible study of sorts, a topical discussion each week with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti, And we invite you to join our Bible study by listening in, by going to the archives and searching for, on the podcast and YouTube, for the Bible Study with the Sinckatis, where we just try to encourage people that God is in control and God has principles for our lives that will lead us to experience the fruit of the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we experience the fruit of the Spirit. And those fruit, of course: peace, love, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. And when we live that way, you know, that abiding peace stays with us because we never, we never leave the Lord. He never leaves us or forsakes us, and we seek to be in His presence at all the time, to abide in Him. So, we encourage that. Well, today is the last full weekday of my final vacation week for this time in the summertime break. So, my wife and I are alone today and we don't have any plans and we're going to enjoy each other's company one way or the other, possibly go somewhere to the great outdoors perhaps to enjoy this time together. And enjoy the Lord as well. As we end every day with Bible study, we always have a Bible study to put in between us. So, we hope you'll bring the Lord into your experience today in some way. We recommend a daily spiritual practice of prayer, gratitude, and Bible study to keep you grounded and to remind you who you are in Christ and to know that God is with you. So, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for your presence in our lives and, uh, your purposes that, that go beyond the pain and suffering we might experience, um, Lord. And then we can, when we walk with you and abide with you, we can experience peace even here in the midst of it all, um, Lord. So we just pray for you to go before us today. We pray for the people who may be listening or, uh, reading today's message, Lord, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests and help them in their walk of faith. And, uh, like I said, please, we ask you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, move our steps into the things you would have us do, and, um, and just help us to, um, represent you here on earth, Lord, because that's all we want to do is live for you and, uh, and to tell others of the riches of your glory when they come to have faith in Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.